Melbourne Pushes for International Students’ Return

Lockdowns and the desire to live regionally are not the only reason Melbourne’s metropolitan market has been so sluggish, with council revealing that almost 40 per cent of residents in the CBD used to be international students.

Lord mayor Sally Capp said the return of international students was critical for the city’s recovery from Covid-19.

“Prior to the pandemic, international students contributed $13.7 billion a year to Victoria’s economy and supported nearly 80,000 jobs, so we know their return will benefit our economic recovery,” Capp said.

“All levels of government should be working together with the sector to reboot international education, and planning for a substantial return of students by the start of 2022, or as soon as Australia reopens its border.”

Council discussed the return of international students at its meeting this week and outlined its plans to advocate to the federal government for their return nationally and request joint advocacy with the Council of Capital City Lord Mayors.

Proportion of international students in Melbourne

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The Melbourne apartment market was falling behind the rest of the country in prices, up just 0.5 per cent in August, 1.6 per cent in the quarter and 6.6 per cent in the year, in Corelogic data, compared to Sydney where prices increased 11.5 per cent in a year.

Meanwhile rent was one of the cheapest in the country, and rental vacancy was the highest in the country at 3.8 per cent according to Domain and peaked at 6.6 per cent in the CBD.

For landlords who rely on international students, this equates to $5000 a year while student accommodation providers in Melbourne were the hardest hit of the country.

Education and innovation portfolio lead Davydd Griffiths said wanted to pursue initiatives to strengthen the city’s brand and get students back.

“In 2019, more than 150,000 international students from 170 countries lived in Melbourne, making it one of the world’s best student cities,” Griffiths said.

“We must protect Melbourne’s reputation as a global education hub and pave the way for international students to return as soon as it’s safe to do so.”

The state government was planning to restrictions will drop once more people got vaccinated and the premier was expected to announce home quarantine for people coming from NSW soon.

The impact of vaccinations on international arrivals was yet to be determined with Qantas executives eyeing mid-December for the reopening of international borders.