China and India were the biggest source countries for international students, and education was Australia’s third largest export after iron ore and coal - accounting for a record $21.8 billion over the past year.
Minister for Education Simon Birmingham said in a statement, the growth in student numbers showed the government’s commitment to the international higher-education industry.
“The benefits of international education flow through to sectors such as retail and tourism, supporting over 130,000 full time jobs across our major cities, and in key regional areas where international education has established a strong foothold,” he said.
“It's hard to know if it will last forever, but there is no signs of it slowing down.”
Higher education remained the biggest education area for international students, with 43 per cent of those at universities.
A further 26 per cent of students were enrolled in vocational education and 21 per cent were in English language intensive courses.
Melbourne University senior economics lecturer Dr Michael Coelli told SBS the government’s streamlining of the student visa process, as well as opportunities for permanent residency, were attractive to students from Asia.
"There is this kind of huge latent demand there from Asia of people looking to go to universities in other countries,” he said.
“It's hard to know if it will last forever, but there is no signs of it slowing down”.
