Western Australian universities have “been thrown into chaos” by the decision to keep the state’s border closed, industry insiders say, with thousands of international students caught in limbo by the snap decision.
The state was set to reopen its border to travellers without quarantine from 5 February, but at a late-night press conference last week the premier, Mark McGowan, announced that had been postponed due to the spread of the Omicron Covid variant.
The announcement has caused a furore in the university sector, which argues the decision means it will continue to bleed revenue while other states, which have open borders, scoop up enrolments from stranded students.
At the end of 2021, more than 30% of all international students studying in Western Australia – just under 7,000 – remained outside the country. But the International Education Association of Australia (IEAA) warned “hundreds” of students had already arrived in the country and were now stuck in the eastern states.
Catriona Jackson, the chief executive of Universities Australia, said the state’s universities had worked hard in the lead up to 5 February to ensure a smooth transition.
“Staff and students alike are understandably disappointed by the recent decision to indefinitely delay the planned reopening,” she said. “They deserve a concrete roadmap to plan their safe return to WA’s universities, just as their peers have had in other states and territories.”
One staff member from a major university, who asked not to be named, said the decision had thrown the sector “into chaos”.
“Teachers had their inboxes full with students panicked,” he said. “Many students were already on their way and are experiencing distress and dislocation. But perhaps even more significantly, why would any overseas student ever trust WA in the future as a study destination?”
There were concerns among staff that because the sector would continue to lose revenue, it could result in job losses and cuts to research and courses.
“The resulting impact on WA university funding is likely to be enormous,” the staff member said.
It is difficult to estimate the exact financial impact of the border decision but published financial results show total operating revenue for the university sector declined by 5.0%, or $1.84bn, to $34.9bn in 2020.
On top of this, international education contributed more than $1.2bn to the WA economy in 2019, compared to $1.046bn in 2020.
Andre, who asked for his real name not to be used, had been studying at a WA university from his home in South Africa since 2020. The architecture student had terminated his lease and sold his car in anticipation of the border reopening. He said the last-minute decision had left him shattered.
“It’s sad to see,” Andre said. “It’s us versus them, instead of coming up with a solution.”
Andre has applied for a G2G pass to get into the state but is not holding out hope that he will be allowed in. If it is rejected he will travel to Sydney with his partner, who is a doctor.
He said he had tried to apply for universities in eastern states but it was hard to transfer the course work he had already done.
“It’s just disappointing that you kind of get lured into a false promise that shouldn’t have been made.”
Phil Honeywood, the CEO of IEAA, said because universities were “given an iron-clad promise by Mark McGowan” that overseas students would be allowed in, many of them had already arrived in the country.
“Acting on this promise, they now have hundreds of students who have arrived in Sydney and Melbourne waiting to cross the state border,” Honeywood said. “There is no fallback plan from the state government as to what should be done with these now stranded young people.”
He said the organisation was working with the Department of Home Affairs and had received assurances that course commencement dates would be extended for any student who had to stay in the eastern states until they could get into WA.
Home affairs declined to comment, saying only it was not sure how many students expecting to travel to WA had arrived.
