Australia s dwindling number of foreign students are leaving the country in droves with Chinese students leading the pack, new data reveals.
The international education sector had been one of the country s biggest export markets - worth $37.6billion in flow-on benefits to the Australian economy in 2019 - but that was rapidly being eroded due to government restrictions on visas and inward travel.
In December 2020, almost a quarter of all overseas departures from Australia were students on temporary visas leaving the country, new Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show.
Many students have not been able to come back to Australia since the nation severely restricted inward travel on March 20.