Australia does not want Chinese students anymore
Chinese Students in Australia in 2026: 189,000 Enrolled and a Market Rebuilding Fast
Australia hosted 189,103 Chinese students in 2024, according to the Australian Department of Education. Chinese students represent 24% of all international students in the country — the largest national group by a wide margin. 86% of new Chinese enrollments went to Group of Eight universities, confirming that quality is the primary driver. The relationship between Australia and Chinese education has survived the political turbulence of 2020-2022. It is now rebuilding on stronger, more commercially grounded terms.
The old article title on this site asked a pointed question: “Does Australia want Chinese students anymore?” In 2022, the answer was genuinely uncertain. In 2026, the answer is clearly yes — the numbers confirm it. What has changed is the context, the expectation, and the way both sides approach the relationship.
What the Recovery Actually Looks Like
Chinese student enrollments in Australia dipped slightly to 184,510 in the January-August 2025 period, a 2.4% decline from the same period in 2024. This is not a crisis — it reflects broader competition from Japan, Malaysia, and Singapore for Chinese student market share, and a shift in Chinese family preferences toward Asia-Pacific destinations as an alternative to English-speaking Western countries.
Japan hosted 123,485 Chinese students in 2024, up 6.9% year-on-year, driven partly by the weak yen making Japan significantly cheaper. Malaysia’s Chinese student population grew from 8,900 in 2020 to over 33,000 in 2024. Singapore hosts approximately 55,000 Chinese students. The competitive landscape for Chinese student enrollment has widened, and Australia — along with the UK and US — faces more options in Chinese family decision-making than it did five years ago.
The premium positioning holds. Chinese families who choose Australian Group of Eight universities are paying for research quality, employment outcomes, and English-language immersion. They are not choosing on price. This spending pattern makes them a high-value segment for both the education and tourism sectors.
Australia’s Chinese Student Market: Key Numbers
| Metric | 2020 | 2024 | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese students in Australia | ~160,000 | 189,103 | Recovering |
| Share of international students | ~27% | 24% | Slight dilution from competition |
| Group of Eight enrollment share | High | 86% of new enrollments | Premium segment dominant |
| Family visits per student/year | ~1 (COVID-limited) | 1.5-2 | Growing |
| Key competitor destinations | UK, US, Canada | + Japan, Singapore, Malaysia | Competition widening |
The Tourism Dimension: Every Student Is a Family Visit Waiting to Happen
Each Chinese student enrolled in Australia generates an average of 1.5-2 family visits per year. A family of three flying from Shanghai to Sydney for a 2-3 week visit is a premium tourism event: business or premium economy seats, four-star accommodation, significant dining and shopping spend, and often side trips to Melbourne, the Gold Coast, or Cairns.
Chinese parents visiting students are among the highest-spending tourism segments in Australia. They stay longer, spend more per day, and have a locally knowledgeable guide — their child — who helps them access experiences that typical Chinese tour groups never reach. They eat at restaurants their child has found. They walk streets their child knows. This creates a more genuine, more satisfying Australian experience than packaged tourism delivers.
For Australian destinations, hotels, and attractions, the Chinese student market is a tourism pipeline that runs 9 months a year with minimal marketing investment required. The students themselves are the marketing.
Solutions: Building the Chinese Student and Family Visitor Market
Xiaohongshu (RedNote) Strategy
1. Create parent visit guides for major university cities. Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Perth all have significant Chinese student populations. RedNote content specifically titled “visiting your child studying in [city] — complete guide for Chinese parents” is a direct answer to a real search query that thousands of Chinese parents perform every semester. Hotels and attractions near major universities that publish this content capture high-intent traffic with almost no competition.
2. Partner with Chinese student societies at Australian universities. Chinese student associations are active RedNote communities. Many produce their own city guides and lifestyle content. A hotel or attraction that partners with a university’s Chinese student society for content creation gets authentic, peer-trusted material that official tourism channels cannot produce.
3. Target the graduation trip content category. Graduation is a major event for Chinese families. Many combine the ceremony with a family trip around Australia. RedNote content targeting “Australia graduation trip itinerary” or “what to do in Australia after your child graduates” captures a high-spending segment at its peak planning moment.
Douyin Strategy
4. Partner with Chinese student Douyin creators for campus life content. Chinese students who vlog their Australian university life on Douyin are among the most trusted voices for prospective students and their families. A partnership with 5-10 Chinese student Douyin creators across different Australian cities and universities — asking them to include destination content alongside their student life — reaches a precisely targeted, highly trusting audience.
5. Produce “studying in Australia vs. alternatives” comparison content. Chinese families actively compare Australia with Japan, UK, and Singapore when making enrollment decisions. Douyin content that honestly addresses this comparison — cost of living, employment outcomes, cultural experience, proximity to China — reaches decision-stage audiences who are closer to committing than any earlier-stage content audience.
Example Found on Chinese Web (Translated)
From a Xiaohongshu post by user @悉尼留学妈妈的账本 (“Sydney Study Abroad Mum’s Budget Book”), titled “Two weeks in Sydney visiting my son — what I spent and what surprised me,” 42,100 likes, 23,600 saves, December 2024:
“Flight Shanghai-Sydney business class: 18,000 RMB return. Hotel in Newtown near the university: 850 RMB per night for 14 nights. Food: my son took me to his regular spots — a Vietnamese place he goes to twice a week, a ramen shop that is better than most in Shanghai, a bakery that opens at 6am. Total food spend: maybe 4,000 RMB for two weeks because his student knowledge of cheap good food is extraordinary. Shopping: Chemist Warehouse is real — I brought back skincare products for everyone in my family. Total trip: approximately 45,000 RMB. The thing nobody tells you: visiting your child abroad is not a holiday. It is a window into who they have become without you. That is worth every yuan.”
FAQ
Can Chinese students work in Australia while studying?
Yes. Student visa holders can work up to 48 hours per fortnight during term and unlimited hours during university breaks. This is a significant advantage over some competing destinations and is a factor in Chinese family decision-making.
What post-study visa options exist for Chinese graduates in Australia?
The Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) allows graduates from Australian universities to stay and work for 2-4 years after completing their degree, depending on the institution and course. This pathway is a meaningful factor in the Australia vs. alternatives decision for Chinese families who see international work experience as part of the educational investment.
Which Australian cities are most popular with Chinese students?
Sydney and Melbourne host the largest Chinese student communities. Brisbane is growing strongly, partly due to Queensland’s universities and lower cost of living compared to Sydney. Adelaide and Perth attract students seeking a less crowded, more affordable experience.
We share weekly insights on Chinese student travel and education tourism on our LinkedIn page — follow us to stay current.
Let’s Talk About Your Chinese Student Strategy
189,000 Chinese students in Australia means 189,000 reasons for Chinese families to visit, shop, eat, and stay. Most hotels, destinations, and attractions near Australian universities are not actively marketing to this group at all. We can change that — with RedNote content, student society partnerships, and Chinese family visit campaigns that convert existing student presence into real tourism revenue. No complicated brief needed. Just a conversation.
Contact us to explore what is possible for your business.
Pedro Wang is the founder of Chinese Tourists Agency, based in Shanghai. He spent ten years in the Chinese travel industry at CITS and Ctrip before opening the agency. More about Pedro and the team here.
