June international student start stats are out and overall the news is good. YTD commencements for all education sectors are up again, by 15 000 on YTD 2017, to nearly 252 000. Higher education commencements increased from 83 600 to 91 700. However, doomsayers will delight in a slowing rate of growth. HE commencements were up 12 per cent in June ’17 compared to ’16 but grew 9 per cent in 17-18.

The China market stayed strong – albeit with overall YTD commencements growing but slowing, up 6000 year on year, to 70 400, compared to a 9000 lift the previous year. HE commencement growth also slowed, at 37 924 10 per cent up on 2017, compared to a 15 per cent increase in 2016-17.

 Western Australia continues to struggle, with the lowest figure in four years across all sectors, with 15 456 YTD enrolments, down 25 00 on 2016. Higher education starts are flat-lining at 5099.