Back to school
China is no longer accepting degrees studied online or by correspondence.
Here is the (poorly translated, apologies) shock edict from the Ministry of Education:
Source: Ministry of Education, China
This is a huge and abrupt policy shift by China, and as such tens of thousands of Chinese students need to get to Australia immediately for the commencement of the February term.
There were 40,000 Chinese students outside Australia late last year, and that figure doesn't include students who were waiting for their visas to be issued.
This is going to cause some significant logistical issues, due to the short availability of flights, accommodation, and visas.
Phil Honeywood, CEO of the IEAA noted:
Education Minister Jason Clare said he was working with Home Affairs with regards to the issuance of visas, with 35,000 Chinese students having arrived this month already, ahead of yesterday's surprise announcement.
Australia’s private rental market showed fewer than 32,000 rental vacancies in December.
The rush of international students and the return of permanent migration will also likely kill off any risk of rapid wages growth.
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The below NAB/Macrobond chart shows how reduced borrowing capacity has led to double-digit price declines in the top quartile of the Aussie housing market.
Lower price points have generally been supported by the explosion in construction costs for new housing, as well as more buyers being pushed into units and lower price points.
(h/t Tim Boyle, thanks for the share!)
