Australian universities may face $11 billion crunch

Australian universities could lose up to $11 billion dollars as an indefinite coronavirus border closure locks out the foreign students who keep the sector afloat, the industry said Wednesday.

Lobby group Universities Australia said the revenue shortfall would have a lasting impact on not only higher education staffing and facilities but also undermine the sector’s world-class research and innovation.

Education is Australia’s third-largest export – behind only iron ore and coal – with more than 500,000 international students enrolled in 2019, bringing about Aus$32 billion ($22 billion) into the economy.

Universities Australia said its modelling showed the sector could expect coronaviruslinked revenue losses of up to Aus$4.8 billion in 2020, growing to Aus$16 billion through to 2023.

Universities are pushing hard for a cash injection after being ruled ineligible for government wage subsidies during the pandemic, putting more than 20,000 academic and support staff jobs at risk.

Australia’s schools were almost halfway through their first semester when Prime Minister Scott Morrison controversially told struggling international students to “go home” on April 3 as the country began locking down businesses to curb the spread of COVID-19.

Many students remain stranded in the country and are relying on charities for food handouts after they were excluded from government support packages designed to cushion the economic hit from the epidemic.