International student enrolment figures released today show an 11.5 per cent increase in the year to date March 2015 figures compared with the same period in 2014.

“The growth of 11.5 per cent is a positive acknowledgement of the work of universities and others to reinforce Australia as a reputable, high quality destination of choice for international students”, the Chief Executive of Universities Australia, Ms Belinda Robinson said.

“It is also pleasing to see the increasing diversity of nations from which our students come to be educated. Double digit growth from Italy, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Taiwan among others, demonstrates that our universities’ drive to diversify their student cohort is paying dividends.”

Ms Robinson said the sector is committed to working with the Government and the sector to continue to improve the effectiveness of governance and regulation in international education.

“As the Draft National Strategy for International Education released by the Government earlier this month states, the market in international education services remains tremendously competitive. While our students give us consistently positive responses to benchmarking surveys we cannot be complacent,” Ms Robinson concluded.

The report can be accessed here.