Australia may turn less welcoming to international students
Live Events
With both major political parties signalling tougher stances on immigration and international education, the outcome of the electoral dead heat Down Under will likely shape decisions for thousands of Indian students willing to trade hemispheres for a brighter future, according to study abroad experts.'All eyes are on the federal elections in Australia,' said Ravi Lochan Singh, managing director of Global Reach, a study abroad consultancy based out of Australia. 'Immigration and international student numbers are a big discussion point. Both key parties are of the view that international arrival numbers, in terms of migrants, need to be controlled.'Australia is holding general elections on Saturday. The current Labor government's push for tighter controls and caps on the intake of international students and the opposition Liberal's hard-line rhetoric around a housing crisis, visa fees and more stringent caps have sent chills through the international education sector.(Join our ETNRI WhatsApp channel for all the latest updates)'There's definitely growing unease,' said Adarsh Khandelwal, founder of study abroad platform Collegify. '(Leader of opposition) Peter Dutton's comments linking international students to the housing crisis really struck a nerve. Add to that proposed cap on student enrolments and sharp visa fee hikes, and the message to students is starting to feel more exclusionary than welcoming.'He points to the 2025 student enrolment cap, the recent visa fee spike (from 710 Australian dollars to 1,600 Australian dollars, with another hike to 2,000 Australian dollars on the horizon), and the risk of mid-course policy changes as causes of anxiety—particularly for students in IT, engineering and nursing who are banking on permanent residency.The enrolment cap, proposed to be set at 270,000, was seen as a knee-jerk response by the Labor government after it received flak for allowing the international student population to nearly double under its rule.For others watching the political play unfold, the sense of a broader cultural shift is hard to ignore.'There is a rise in right-wing protectionism, isolation, even racism and xenophobia, across the world, particularly in the Western world, which also includes Australia,' said Vinu Warrier, founder of education consultancy EduVelocity. 'It is a crisis where the world is changing rapidly, jobs and careers are changing rapidly, and the first scapegoats are immigrants, and Indians are more visible immigrants when it comes to the volume of international students.'According to the Australian government's Department of Education (DoE), Indians were the second largest student cohort in 2024 at 139,038, behind Chinese students (189,282).'Migration, and students by extension, have become political shorthand for broader concerns—overstretched infrastructure, rising costs and cultural anxieties. Students are an easy target: they're visible, their numbers have grown quickly, and they tie into the migration stats politicians like to cite,' said Khandelwal of Collegify.Despite the nervousness, the demand story remains intact.'We haven't seen any dip in student housing demand for Australia,' said Saurabh Arora, founder of University Living. 'In fact, our 2025 accommodation leads are higher than last year.'According to his firm's recent report, international students account for nearly 76% of housing demand in cities like Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, underlining their economic footprint in the broader housing and part-time labour market ecosystem. He said: 'When discussions around infrastructure, migration or housing come up, it's natural that such a large and visible group takes the centre stage in the national narrative.'There were 853,045 international students studying in Australia in 2024, up 9% from the year before, as per DoE figures.Even so, the signals are mixed. 'International students are part of a broader national conversation around migration, infrastructure and housing supply,' said Piyush Kumar, regional director for IDP Education. 'It's not about targeting them per se, but about maintaining a sustainable migration framework.'There has already been a slight dip in application numbers over the past 8-9 months, according to Kumar.And if the political winds shift further, international students, excluded from the ballot, could begin voting with their feet.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Economic Times
30 minutes ago
- Economic Times
D-Street lures FIIs back with big ticket block trades
Foreign investors are returning to Indian stocks, spurred by $5.5 billion in block trades in May, the highest in almost a year. This influx follows a significant outflow and is driven by attractive valuations and India's strong economic performance. Interest is particularly strong in banking, telecommunications, and diversified conglomerates, signaling renewed confidence in the Indian equities market. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Foreign investors are starting to head back into Indian stocks after a major exodus, attracted by $5.5 billion worth of big ticket block trades in May and lifting hopes of a revival in the nation's equities block trades were well bought by overseas investors, according to bankers. They marked the highest monthly total in almost a year and a huge jump from only $220 million in April."We actually saw interest coming in from a fairly diverse set of investors who were missing in action in the last six months," said Abhinav Bharti, head of JPMorgan's India equity capital market business."They had gone out of India, said India is just too expensive, we don't want to buy anything right now. I think we could start seeing them coming back."Block trades often precede a recovery in IPOs and May's robust offerings come amid a strong performance for Indian Nifty 50 index has climbed risen 6% since early April when U.S. President Donald Trump announced his sweeping tariffs which were then paused for 90 days, with India emerging as an investor safe haven due to better-than-feared have since bought about $3 billion worth of Indian stocks in April and May combined, data comes after they pulled nearly $29 billion out of Indian stocks between October and March which followed record highs for the country's benchmark indices in Tan, a portfolio manager at Allspring Global Investments in Singapore, said the recent inflows into India reflect a resurgence of interest in emerging market equities."We've selectively added to India on pullbacks but remain underweight," said Tan, citing high valuation in some sectors. Banking, telecommunications and diversified conglomerates were his most favoured sectors, he $5.5 billion in block trades in May, according to LSEG data, included the sale of a British American Tobacco $1.51 billion stake in ITC, according to a term sheet seen by Reuters co-founder Rakesh Gangwal also offloaded a 5.7% stake in the low-cost carrier through a block deal worth about $1.36 billion, while Singtel sold $1.5 billion of Bharti Airtel shares . Both the ITC and IndiGo trades were increased in size after strong demand from investors, bankers was the busiest May on record for block trades in the country, the data showed."We're seeing high-quality global long-only accounts coming in with conviction," said Sunil Khaitan, a managing director at Goldman Sachs in India."Some are still waiting for levels to normalize, but 90% to 95% of the foreign liquidity coming back into the market is from deeply embedded India investors, those who understand the market and have been waiting for the right window to reengage."Citigroup's head of India ECM Arvind Vashistha said the country's better economic performance, tax cuts and interest rate reductions had helped sentiment towards India's equity markets improve."The economy is in good shape, valuations have become more reasonable, which is encouraging healthy market activity. Investors are telling us that these are the companies we find interesting and if there's a supplier, we'd love to buy it," he said.
India Today
30 minutes ago
- India Today
Virat Kohli to play BBL? Cricket Australia CEO opens up on possibilities
Virat Kohli doesn't play in overseas T20 leagues. Courtesy: AP Virat Kohli hasn't played in overseas T20 leagues Kohli is set to play in the IPL 2025 final CA CEO expressed his desire to see Kohli in the BBL Cricket Australia (CA) CEO Todd Greenberg has expressed his desire to see Virat Kohli participate in the Big Bash League (BBL). While several Indian women cricketers - including Jemimah Rodrigues, Smriti Mandhana, Deepti Sharma, Shikha Pandey, and Harmanpreet Kaur - have featured in the Women's BBL, their male counterparts have been absent due to restrictions imposed by the BCCI. Under current rules, Indian male cricketers are prohibited from playing in overseas T20 leagues unless they have retired from all forms of Indian cricket. Greenberg believes that the inclusion of high-profile players like Kohli would significantly boost both attendance and viewership ratings for the BBL. Also Read: Virat Kohli to play in BBL? Sydney Sixers make big announcement on April 1 'We would love to welcome some Indian players to the BBL. That would be fantastic. That's certainly some conversations that we will continue to have with the BCCI. I mean, I would love to see, Virat Kohli playing in the BBL this year. That would certainly create some interest in crowds and ratings, I'm sure. But at the moment, that's not happening, but we do have our ambitions to do those types of things,' Greenberg said in a virtual media interaction by Cricket Australia. Greenberg also highlighted the growing influence of Indian companies in global cricket, noting their acquisition of teams in The Hundred - specifically the Northern Superchargers, Oval Invincibles, and Manchester Originals. 'As you're seeing all over the world, T20 leagues are going down a lot of the private investment, opportunities. We're seeing that in England recently with the Hundred. A number of the IPL franchises are now taking ownership stakes in the Hundred. So we've got to again, it goes to the same message I've been talking about. We've got to continue to evolve and innovate the way we run our business here in Australia and making sure that we have an open mind to new things,' Greenberg added. Representing the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), Kohli is currently set to play in the IPL 2025 final on Tuesday, June 3 against Punjab Kings (PBKS) at the Narendra Modi Stadium. The drafts for the upcoming BBL edition will take place in mid-June. Cricket Australia (CA) CEO Todd Greenberg has expressed his desire to see Virat Kohli participate in the Big Bash League (BBL). While several Indian women cricketers - including Jemimah Rodrigues, Smriti Mandhana, Deepti Sharma, Shikha Pandey, and Harmanpreet Kaur - have featured in the Women's BBL, their male counterparts have been absent due to restrictions imposed by the BCCI. Under current rules, Indian male cricketers are prohibited from playing in overseas T20 leagues unless they have retired from all forms of Indian cricket. Greenberg believes that the inclusion of high-profile players like Kohli would significantly boost both attendance and viewership ratings for the BBL. Also Read: Virat Kohli to play in BBL? Sydney Sixers make big announcement on April 1 'We would love to welcome some Indian players to the BBL. That would be fantastic. That's certainly some conversations that we will continue to have with the BCCI. I mean, I would love to see, Virat Kohli playing in the BBL this year. That would certainly create some interest in crowds and ratings, I'm sure. But at the moment, that's not happening, but we do have our ambitions to do those types of things,' Greenberg said in a virtual media interaction by Cricket Australia. Greenberg also highlighted the growing influence of Indian companies in global cricket, noting their acquisition of teams in The Hundred - specifically the Northern Superchargers, Oval Invincibles, and Manchester Originals. 'As you're seeing all over the world, T20 leagues are going down a lot of the private investment, opportunities. We're seeing that in England recently with the Hundred. A number of the IPL franchises are now taking ownership stakes in the Hundred. So we've got to again, it goes to the same message I've been talking about. We've got to continue to evolve and innovate the way we run our business here in Australia and making sure that we have an open mind to new things,' Greenberg added. Representing the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), Kohli is currently set to play in the IPL 2025 final on Tuesday, June 3 against Punjab Kings (PBKS) at the Narendra Modi Stadium. The drafts for the upcoming BBL edition will take place in mid-June. Join our WhatsApp Channel
Time of India
31 minutes ago
- Time of India
Zouk eyes Rs 1000 crore revenue in 4-5 years, doubles down on premium play and offline retail
New Delhi: Homegrown vegan lifestyle brand Zouk is gearing up for its next phase of growth with a target of reaching Rs 1,000 crore in revenue in the next 4-5 years and eventually hit the bourses, a company's official said. As of March 31, 2024, the company had reported an annual turnover of Rs 78.2 crore. However, it did not share the previous year's revenue figures. Having established a strong digital-first presence , Zouk is now turning its focus to exclusive brand outlets (EBOs), premium product launches, and a strategic global foray, co-founder and COO Pradeep Krishnakumar said in an interview with ETRetail. 'We've built a strong digital foundation, but we've always believed Zouk is a brand consumers want to touch and feel,' he said. 'That's where offline retail becomes critical.' The company currently operates over 10 EBOs and plans to expand to reach 20 stores by the end of this year. The brand's offline footprint has primarily focused on cities like Mumbai, Pune, Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, and tier 2 regions such as Indore, Jaipur, and Ahmedabad. 'Our expansion strategy includes entering more high-street locations and malls in non-metro cities, which are showing promising traction,' he shared. Talking about the brand's hero product, Krishnakumar said, "Our office bags continue to be the hero product. It's that sweet spot where style meets utility, and Indian women relate to it deeply." He added that laptop sleeves and slings have also gained traction, while backpacks, introduced recently, are being tested for scale. 'We don't expand categories for the sake of it — we evaluate data, market gaps, and customer demand,' he said. Premiumisation with purpose When asked about its premium offerings, he said, 'Premium in India can't just mean gold zips and a higher price tag. Our customers are value-conscious — they expect better materials, smarter compartments, and more thoughtful design.' The Rhea Kapoor x Zouk collection , launched earlier this year, represents this premium shift. The range has helped Zouk move into the higher price bracket while maintaining its vegan, cruelty-free promise. Zouk had raised $14.8 million in funding from investors like Stellaris Venture Partners, Titan Capital and Aavishkaar Capital. While the company isn't profitable yet, Krishnakumar said it's running a capital-efficient model. 'We are close to profitability but this is a build phase for us. We're investing in brand, retail, and team — profitability will follow,' he said. Offline retail is a big part of that build. 'We're not rushing into hundreds of stores. It's a phased rollout with a clear view on unit economics and brand visibility,' he added. Zouk is also looking beyond India. The company is exploring select global markets, starting with the US, Europe, and the Middle East. 'We've had early conversations internationally and we plan to start some work this fiscal. But for now, India remains our primary focus,' Krishnakumar said.
