Universities Australia welcomes the opportunity to make a submission to the Council for International Education’s consultation process for the development of the new Australian Strategy for International Education 2020-30. Universities Australia is the peak body representing Australia’s 39 comprehensive universities.

Australian universities are a key national resource. Unlike physical resources, they provide limitless potential through the generation of ideas that enable society and the economy to continuously improve. Universities also provide our graduates with the education and skills to navigate not just the challenges of the present but the unknowns of the future.

Universities Australia strongly advocates that the Australian Government consider a coordinated approach to identifying and managing the risk of foreign interference in Australian universities. We are concerned the Bill is not proportionate to risk and would impose an onerous administrative impost on universities and on the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.