The sector is heavily dependent on South Asian students particularly predominantly Indian, Nepalese, Bangladeshi and Bhutanese who formed close to a third of the total market in 2025 with India alone having brought down over 140,000. By October 2025 (year to date), Australia recorded 833,041 international students, with no change reported.Compared with the same period in 2024, enrolments decreased by 2% to 1,025,807 in total (a 2% decline), which is consistent with students enrolling in more than one course.In 2025, there were 190,799 new student commencements, which represents a 15% decrease from 2024.India accounted for 17% of enrolments (about 141,000 students), Nepal for 8% (about 66,000–68,000 students), and the four South Asian countries—India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Bhutan—together made up nearly one-third of the total (around 30%). Department of Home Affairs out-of-cycle re-assessment by Department of Home Affairs raised the risk level for these four countries from the fourth highest, Evidence Level 2 to the highest threat level, Evidence Level 3 on January 8, 2026 under Simplified Student Visa Framework. This shift, in response to integrity issues including document fraud and non-genuine study reasons, requires higher evidentiary standard — eg three months of certified bank statements, verified academic transcripts, detailed source-of-funds verification and enhanced Genuine Student test assessments — could lengthen processing times to up to eight weeks as well as raise the likelihood of refusals. In such increased uncertainty and perceived complexity, Australian universities (e.g., University of Melbourne, UNSW Sydney, Monash University, the University of Queensland, the University of Technology; Sydney) are scaling up their digital brand-building and trust creation activity to maintain recruitment from this key market. Branding online involves targeted social media advertising, search optimized region-specific websites, virtual tours of the campus and culturally relevant content marketing. Trust-generation activities are transparent visa guidance material is posted online, live webinars dealing with reform impacts alumni success stories Investigating the role of these marketing strategies on South Asian prospective students' perceptions regarding institutional credibility, how they help to minimize policy-induced risks, and how marketing activity influences enrollment choices during the new post-reform environment. This research will be based on the consumer behaviour theoretical framework (e.g., Theory of Reasoned Action), on higher education marketing literature, and it will use a mixed methods approach: conducting qualitative research about digital initiatives by leading Australian universities and quantitative survey research that assesses South Asian applicants' trust factors and digital (online) engagement with Australian universities. The research findings suggest that a proactive, transparent and culturally relevant approach through the use of digital methods will have a significant effect on enhancing perceived legitimacy, reducing abandonment rates and counteracting the potential decline in enrollment rates among South Asian students. Some recommendations include increasing the level of investment in AI-personalised outreach as well as agent-university collaboration focused on South Asian countries. The results of this study enhance the knowledge of the use of adaptive digital marketing to support international student mobility during times of policy disruption, and will provide guidance to Australian universities on how to retain Australia's competitive position as the most preferred destination for genuine South Asian students. Research has shown that digital methods that are proactive, cultured, and open provide greater confidence in the legitimacy of a higher education institution than traditional paper-based methods. Additionally, research indicates that personalized outreach via AI and partnerships between universities and agents can enhance and maintain confidence in a university's legitimacy to potential students in South Asia (for example, through multiple channels of communication). Overall, this study contributes to understanding how adaptive and effective Digital Marketing Strategies, including partnerships and personalized student outreach, will help ensure that Australia's Competitive Advantages as a Preferred Destination for Genuine South Asian Scholars are preserved. Based on official year-to-date figures through October 2025, Australia hosted 833,041 international students, reflecting a 0.There was a 3% decline compared with the same period in 2024, and total enrolments were 1,025,807 (a 2% decrease), which may be partly due to some students enrolling in more than one course. In 2025, there were 190,799 new student commencements, which is 15% lower than in the same period in 2024. Total commencements were 447,014, also reflecting a 15% decrease.China accounted for 23% of the top source countries, followed by India at 17% and Nepal at 8%, which indicates that South Asia contributed a large share after China. In 2021, a report showed that students from India accounted for roughly 17% of all international students in Australia, which is around 141,000 individuals. Following them, Nepalese students represented approximately 8% of the total, with numbers ranging from 66,000 to 68,000. These figures provide a clear insight into the national origins within that particular student population.The four South Asian nations previously mentioned—India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Bhutan— collectively accounted for nearly 30% of global student enrollments in Australia during 2021. On January 8, 2026, the Department of Home Affairs implemented an unscheduled revision, elevating the evidence level from 2 to 3 for each of these nations.
Nithin Achuthan (Wed,) studied this question.