When will international students be able to return to Western Australia?
International students may be able to enter Australia by July subject to strict procedures, but this might not be the case with Western Australia which has refused to set a date for the reopening of its interstate borders.
According to ABC News, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said in an address on Friday that Australians will be able to travel anywhere throughout the country except for Western Australia.
“I think the only state or territory likely to fall out of that is still possibly Western Australia, but there is a commitment from the Premier to continue to look at this issue,” he was quoted saying.
“The Premier in Western Australia will make the argument that containing the borders of Western Australia has enabled them to move [faster]. They’re effectively on step three now, with the exception of that one item [the border closure].”
‘Bright future with or without COVID’: International students drawn to WA despite closed border
International students will still want to study in Western Australia with or without the COVID pandemic looming over the sector but the border ‘needed to open’, according to a Perth university leader.
Just two months ago, one-third of international university students destined for Australia would divert their studies somewhere else if they could start face-to-face learning elsewhere sooner.
Global education specialists IDP Education surveyed 4312 students with current offers from universities in Australia, Canada, UK, US and New Zealand and found those accepted into Australia were among the least confident about taking up their study in 2021.
IDP Connect’s survey found 29 per cent of students destined for Australia preferred to study elsewhere if they were able to start sooner, and a further 8 per cent had chosen already to switch.
