Education Minister Dan Tehan wants the international education industry to consider how international students “can have experiences of engaging with our regions.” “I encourage you all to think about how we can achieve this,” he will say in his speech to the International Education Association of Australia this morning.

“As a rural member of parliament, I want regional Australia to be a greater part of the international education story.

“I want the international student cohort who come to Australia to have the opportunity to experience a different Australia – to live and study in our regions, to see the bush, to meet people from rural, regional and remote parts of the country and to build friendships.

However, Mr Tehan will not present policy specifics on how to expand the number of international students attending regional universities.

In a wide-ranging address, the minister will set out the economic and social benefits Australia enjoys from the now $32bn international education sector. And he will detail overseas students’ satisfaction with their Australian experience, citing new survey data showing 89 per cent of university students and 87 per cent VET students are satisfied with their overall study experience here.

However, in a carefully calibrated remark, he will also call on the industry, “to promote our education sector to the rest of Australia.  Australians should be proud of our international education system and understand the benefits to everyone.”