Worst ELICOS commencement numbers in 14 years
Through no fault of its own, Australia’s ELICOS sector has experienced a significant decline in student commencements in 2020. Recording just 66,531 commencements in 2020, this figure is close to the 60,505 commencements seen in 2006 and significantly short of the 117,386 commencements registered in 2019. The decrease means 43.3% fewer students began learning English in Australia in 2020 than 2019.
ELICOS-only offshore visa lodgements down 74.6% in 2020 versus 2019
There are further troubling signs for the ELICOS sector with the pipeline of new students drastically down based on the low number of offshore lodgements for new visas in 2020. Overall lodgements, both onshore and offshore, were down 64.1% compared with 2019’s figures. Further emphasising the challenges the sector is facing, visa grants also declined heavily, falling 63.0% for ELICOS-only. This fall included a 73.6% drop in offshore grants.
All states and territories share the pain
In absolute student numbers, NSW experienced the biggest loss, down almost 20,000 students. However, all states and territories had declines from 38% to 54%. These figures do not include the declines in non-student visa holders, adding further to the impact of the past year’s border closures.
Top-3 source markets shed over 27,000 students
The downturn in students from China, Colombia, and Brazil made up 47% of the total loss in 2020. This highlights just how important these markets are to the ELICOS sector and the need for considerable effort to restore confidence once borders reopen.
ELICOS market analysis: December 2020
DET Summary Report
DET Detailed Report
