International Students Should Not Be Blamed for Property Crisis: Report

Student Accommodation Council noted that rents began rising in 2020 when migration was prohibited by travel bans and the majority of students returned home.

This photo shows a man using a laptop computer on a street in the central business district of Sydney, Australia, on Nov. 5, 2018. Peter Parks/AFP via Getty Images

Group of Eight (Go8), Australia’s most research-intensive universities, said that the public should stop blaming international students for the nation’s property crisis, which is a reflection of supply-side problems including underinvestment and government regulation.

“International education is one of Australia’s greatest export success stories and is critical to our future prosperity. Australia is in a global race for top international students who go on to earn advanced qualifications and help Australia’s drive to become a knowledge economy,” Go8 CEO Vicki Thomson said.