About 300 international university students will return to Adelaide in September to help revive the nation’s education sector which has been hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Federal Trade Minister Simon Birmingham said the pilot program would be used to test the management of the wider return of students to help an industry that underpinned thousands of jobs.
“It’s being done with the utmost safety requirements in place,” Senator Birmingham said.
“All of the quarantine requirements, all of the testing requirements, all of those factors have been built in with this having been approved by state and federal authorities to make sure everyone can have confidence that this is not going to pose any risk.”
Premier Steven Marshall said South Australia was looking forward to welcoming back students from overseas.
“International students are an important part of our community, adding to our state’s vibrancy and multiculturalism,” he said.
“South Australia’s handling of COVID-19 has put us in the ideal position to be a first-mover in bringing back international students.”
The flight from Singapore for South-East Asian students is expected to arrive in Adelaide in early September, in a test run for a return nationally.
The final-year students are expected to follow a strict hotel quarantine regime, the same as that in place for repatriated Australians, to be paid for by the universities.
