Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Sunday, Oct 05, 2025

Australia's International Student Return Plan Likely To Exclude Chinese

Australia's International Student Return Plan Likely To Exclude Chinese

Though Chinese nationals make up most of Australia's international students, they are unlikely to return due to ineligibility of China's Covid vaccines.
A pilot program to allow some international students to return to Australia's most populous state is likely to exclude Chinese nationals due to rules surrounding vaccination status.

The phased plan was approved by the federal government and the first flight carrying some 500 fully-vaccinated international students will arrive in New South Wales by the end of the year, the state government said Friday. Chinese nationals are Australia's biggest source of international students but they are likely to be ineligible to participate, because China's vaccines are not recognized by Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration.

"They will need to be double vaccinated with a vaccine that our federal authorities deemed to be adequate and effective and that is just the way it is," Premier Gladys Berejiklian told reporters. Those wanting to participate in the future need to "find access to a vaccine that is regarded as effective by our authorities. We don't want additional risk put into our system," she said.

International education was worth A$14.6 billion ($10.7 billion) to New South Wales in 2019, the state government said. Macquarie University, The University of Newcastle, The University of Sydney, University of New South Wales (UNSW) and University of Technology Sydney (UTS) are among the universities that will participate in the pilot plan.

More than 57,000 students are estimated to be overseas, according to the state government. Chinese nationals are Australia's biggest source of international students followed by those in India, Nepal and Vietnam, according to the Australian Trade Department.

Vaccines made by Beijing-based Sinovac Biotech Ltd. and state-owned Sinopharm are among the most used in China, and have efficacy rates ranging from around 50% to 80% in preventing symptomatic Covid. A vaccine developed by Sichuan Clover Biopharmaceuticals was found to prevent 79% of Covid-19 cases caused by the delta strain in late-stage trials.

Sinovac and Sinopharm have provided little conclusive data on the effectiveness of their shots against the delta variant, which is more infectious than the virus' original strain and appears to have dimmed the protection of existing vaccines.

New South Wales state capital Sydney has been at the epicenter of a delta outbreak that's forced Australia's largest city into lockdown for the past 90 days and spread to Melbourne and other east coast areas. On Friday, New South Wales reported 1,043 new Covid-19 cases in 24 hours, with 11 deaths. Victoria, Australia's second-most populous state, reported 733 new cases and 1 death.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
×