India tops China as No.1 country for Wollongong international students

But India may be unlikely to take top spot again next year as two recent developments may limit the intake of Indian students.

And with international students delivering universities almost double the revenue that comes per domestic student, the NSW Auditor-General has repeated its warning about the risks from over-concentration on certain countries.

The top three countries for international student revenue - China, India and Nepal - account for 40 per cent of total student revenue for all NSW universities, the NSW Audit Office's report into universities, released on Wednesday, states.

At UOW Indian students account for 29 per cent of revenue from international students, an increase of 8 per cent on 2022.

But UOW is not among those universities most at risk of over-concentration, with India and China taking it in turns at the top in recent years, and international student income more diverse than some other universities.

UOW also has a significant numbers of students from South-East Asia, North Africa and the Middle East.

"In recent years India and China have interchanged as the number one source of international student enrolments," a UOW spokesman said.

"The previous year's Audit Office report noted that China had replaced India as UOW's largest source of international student enrolments, while this year's report notes that India has replaced China as the number one source country.

"UOW manages this risk in a variety of ways including continuing to diversify the countries from where we draw students and leveraging our off-shore campuses."

Developments likely to reduce Indian intake

It is likely China will be the top source country for international student revenue at UOW next year, as two significant developments are set to disrupt the Indian student market.

UOW is set to open a campus in Gujarat state in India soon, and it will offer an emphasis on finance and commercial technology courses in the new Gujarat International Finance Tec-City, known as GIFT City.

Perhaps more significantly, there is considerable uncertainty surrounding student visas for Indian students, including changes to visas for graduates which will take effect from July 1, and reported large-scale rejection of visa applications from some states in India.

Wollongong's Nav Mittal, the vice-president of the Asian International Students of Australia, said Indian student numbers were likely to drop off because of uncertainties with visas.

Mr Mittal said if a visa application is rejected by Australia the US would count this against an application in that country, so some families are choosing to apply to universities in Canada or the UK instead.

"There is a big debate going on - [people say] there are certain regions in India which basically are not getting the visa if you are from there," he said.

"Because there is no certainty of the visa now coming from Australia, parents are trying to opt more for other countries.

"If you're rejected in in Australia, then USA also doesn't take you. So it's better to apply and go to Canada or to UK or some directly to the US.

"It's not a university problem - it's a government problem."

UOW last year rejected reports it had imposed restrictions on visas from specific Indian states in response to concerns about visa fraud.

But the uncertainty is ongoing for the Indian student community in Wollongong - and those who aspire to join them.

Warning for universities on 'big three'

As universities rely more on international students for revenue the auditor warned about the risk of over-concentration on China, India and Nepal.

"Seven of the ten universities record China as the leading source of overseas student revenues," the Auditor-General's report states.

"This creates a concentration risk for each university, and for the NSW university sector as a whole."

While UOW has experienced an 8 per cent increase in overseas revenue from Indian students, to about 29 per cent, this proportion of revenue coming from a single country is well lower than some major universities.

The Universities of Sydney and New South Wales both rely on more than 75 per cent of overseas student revenue from one country, China.

The audit report found only two universities in NSW (Sydney and UNSW) now have over 40 per cent of their overseas student revenue dependent on one country, down from six in 2019.