{"id":1514,"date":"2025-12-03T11:50:14","date_gmt":"2025-12-03T00:50:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/educateplus-qld\/?post_type=article&#038;p=1514"},"modified":"2025-12-03T11:50:14","modified_gmt":"2025-12-03T00:50:14","slug":"international-students-what-did-2024-bring-to-the-sector-and-where-are-we-going","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/educateplus-qld\/article\/international-students-what-did-2024-bring-to-the-sector-and-where-are-we-going\/","title":{"rendered":"International Students: What Did 2024 Bring to the Sector and Where Are We Going?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>With international education contributing $47.8 billion to Australia\u2019s economy in FY 23\u201324, understanding these changes is crucial for strategic planning.<\/p>\n<p>Queensland emerged as a national leader in 2024, capturing 33% of Australia\u2019s international school student commencements, up from 31% in 2019. This growth occurred despite a paradoxical trend: while Education Queensland International (EQI) expanded aggressively, many CRICOS-registered non-state schools decreased their international Enrolments or deregistered entirely. Independent Schools Queensland data reveals 1,498 international students across 79 schools in 2024, representing 25% growth, with 85% attending independent schools.<\/p>\n<p>The market share dynamics shifted dramatically between government and non-government sectors. Government educational institutions increased their market share from 64.27% in 2019 to 72.32% in 2024, while nongovernment educational institutions declined from 35.73% to 27.68%. This shift reflects divergent recovery strategies post-pandemic. Source market performance revealed unexpected patterns. China, traditionally the dominant market, has not returned to pre-pandemic commencement levels, validating the \u201cChina-plus\u201d diversification model. Vietnam remains price-sensitive, with Sydney and Melbourne as major competitors. Queensland non-state schools increased Hong Kong Enrolments despite school closures there due to declining student populations. Japan emerged as Queensland\u2019s strongest growth market, particularly in government schools.<\/p>\n<p>Looking forward, several strategic considerations emerge.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>First, the reduction in CRICOS-registered educational institutions creates both less competition and potential market gaps.<\/li>\n<li>Second, education agent relationships are crucial\u2014 educational institutions that dramatically reduced international Enrolments risk permanent relationship damage.<\/li>\n<li>Third, for Queensland to remain as a strong destination for international students, high-quality schools in the State need to maintain international operations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The critical question facing educational institutions is whether strong domestic demand justifies avoiding \u201criskier\u201d international Enrolments. International education requires long-term strategic commitment, not opportunistic participation. Educational institutions must decide whether they are genuinely committed to this sector or merely responding to short-term market conditions.<\/p>\n<p>As we move beyond 2024, successful international education programs will require strategic patience, diversified source markets, strong agent relationships, and a commitment to quality. Queensland\u2019s Leadership position offers opportunities, but only for educational institutions willing to play the long game in an increasingly competitive global education market.<\/p>\n<p>Originally submitted for Face-to-Face Magazine 2025 by:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-1515\" src=\"https:\/\/d1dfwahqlx324v.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2025\/12\/FERGUSON-David-from-LI-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/d1dfwahqlx324v.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2025\/12\/FERGUSON-David-from-LI-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/d1dfwahqlx324v.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2025\/12\/FERGUSON-David-from-LI-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/d1dfwahqlx324v.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2025\/12\/FERGUSON-David-from-LI-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/d1dfwahqlx324v.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2025\/12\/FERGUSON-David-from-LI.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/david-philip-ferguson\/\"><strong>David Ferguson <\/strong><\/a><br \/>\nDirector, International &amp; Accommodation Operations <br \/>\nJohn Paul College QLD<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With international education contributing $47.8 billion to Australia\u2019s economy in FY 23\u201324, understanding these changes is crucial for strategic planning. Queensland emerged as a national leader in 2024, capturing 33% of Australia\u2019s international school student commencements, up from 31% in 2019. This growth occurred despite a paradoxical trend: while Education Queensland International (EQI) expanded aggressively, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":1516,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","class_list":["post-1514","article","type-article","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/educateplus-qld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/1514","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/educateplus-qld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/educateplus-qld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/article"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/educateplus-qld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1514"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/educateplus-qld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1516"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/educateplus-qld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1514"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}