Just a few months ago many market pundits were predicting that the Australian dollar would reach parity with the US dollar in the very near future. That was until the Aussie currency fell off the proverbial cliff against the green back in July. On 5 September the Australian dollar hit US81.5 cents, its lowest level in a year. This represents a slide of over 17% from its July peak of US98.4 cents.
The steady rise of the Aussie dollar prior to July had many in the Australian international education sector very concerned. A key attraction for international students considering Australia as a study option has traditionally been its lower cost when compared to the US and the UK. This selling point is obviously diminished by a strong Aussie dollar.
So the rapid weakening of the local currency against the US dollar is great news for Australian education providers. Once again Australia can market itself as offering the very high quality education at a lower cost than its key international competitors - the US, UK and Canada.
Devaluation of the Australian dollar against the green back is not the end of the story either. Importantly, the Aussie dollar has also weakened significantly against the majority of the currencies of the top 10 source markets for international students coming to Australia, including, China, India, Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Japan, and Brazil.
Education providers should be jumping for joy. It will be interesting to see what impact these currency moves will have on international enrolments in Australia in the coming months.
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