Daily Brief — Australian Education

BONARD Education data for 2025 shows ELT student weeks fell 23% across the eight major study destinations and student numbers dropped 10%, with Australia recording the steepest individual decline at 35% in student weeks — the worst result of all eight countries tracked — as English Australia CEO Ian Aird highlighted the "tyranny" of Australia's visa regime and noted the study visa application fee is now ten times that of Canada or Ireland (7 September). BONARD director Ivana Bartosik warned "2026 would likely bring a third year of overall decline" and that opportunity lay in "matching source market, student segment and program type to where demand is actually holding"; the average length of stay across the eight destinations has fallen from 8.3 weeks in 2022 to 6.5 weeks in 2025, the lowest point in a decade, driven by the contraction of the adult segment in favour of shorter junior courses. Aird, following the report's launch: "They've just got to do so much more with less." (The PIE, 7 September)

Standing figures: 2026 NPL 295,000 (+25,000 on 2025); visa refusal rates 69% Nepal, 42% India (early 2026); domestic commencements 413,133 (+4.3% YoY); $50m over-enrolment fund; $50m Structural Adjustment Fund.

17–18 November 2026 — TEQSA 2026 Conference, fully virtual.

19 May 2027 — ASQA 12-month VET/ELICOS registration pause expires.