A report in The Australian has announced that the amount of funds required by international students to study in Australia has been increased from A$12,000 to 18,000 a year.

In previous years, the low figure of $12,000 has been criticised for not accurately representing the real cost of living in Australia’s main cities, including Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne. However, the increase may also be disappointing news for poorer students looking to study in Australia next year.

The decision to increase the amount, made by the Australian Government, will help prevent poorer students struggling financially throughout their degrees, and is also part of an effort to clamp down on fraudulent education agents. The report in The Australian revealed that the “move will cut the growing numbers of poorer international students, mainly from India…being recruited by unscrupulous education agents chasing commissions from private vocational colleges.”

An earlier report on India eNews stated how the Australian Government have been “carrying out an audit of several vocational institutes in the country, several who have hired unscrupulous agents to woo international students.”

To learn more about studying in Australia, read the i-studentadvisor Australia guide.