Department of Education, Skills and Employment international student enrolment data are derived from the Provider Registration and International Students Management System (PRISMS) database and counts enrolments by students studying in Australia on a student visa. The data includes commencements and year-to-date counts. It is broken down by nationality, sector and state/territory.

 

International student enrolment statistics for 1994 to 2019 are summarised in the chart below. This chart should be used for indicative purposes only, as data for the periods 1994-2001 and 2002-2019 are not comparable due to the different sources used to compile the data. Click on the chart to open a printable pdf copy with associated data table.

Note: There have been significant changes in methodology between 2001 and 2002.

1994 to 2001: Data were sourced from the Department of Education, Skills and Employment Higher Education Statistical Collection, CRICOS, the Department of Home Affairs.

From 2002: Onshore student data are derived from the Commonwealth Provider Registration and International Student Management System (PRISMS). The data show enrolments across all sectors for all students holding a student visa. These do not cover students on other visas, which in the case of ELICOS, involves a large number of students on tourist visas and, to a lesser extent, working holiday visas. As a general 'rule of thumb', for each ELICOS student on a student visa there is another on a non-student visa. For further information, please see Explanatory notes for International Student Data.

The data do not cover offshore activity where Australian providers supply education services to foreign students overseas or by distance education where the student remains offshore. Data on offshore activity by Australian higher education institutions are available from the Higher Education Statistical Collection.

 

 

In an effort to reduce the size of downloads, a subset of the data from 2015 onwards has been created. The full time series from 2002 onwards is available in the indicated links (as larger downloads).

 

 

To assist you with using the Department of Education, Skills and Employment pivot tables, please refer to the User Guide (pdf 2.6MB). This manual is intended to provide new users with basic pivot table skills and advice on how to browse this website to locate international student data and reports.

 

Please contact us if you experience any technical difficulties.