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.

Participants in the survey of over 6,000 international students said Adelaide was quiet, affordable, safe and clean. A similar profile was given to Perth, which scored highest on quiet and affordable, while Brisbane enjoyed a tick for being green and having outdoor activities.

The city-by-city findings are part of a major study on international students by IDP Education to be unveiled at the Australian International Education Conference. The event started on Tuesday 13 October at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre.

“This shows why cities hoping to attract more international students need to play to their strengths,” said IDP chief executive Tony Pollock. “It is hard to argue with a finding that says Sydney and Melbourne have the entertainment and big city attractiveness, but a city with a reputation for being affordable, clean, quiet or green can be just as appealing to families overseas.”

Over 1,300 delegates from 40 countries will hear more findings from the new IDP research at this week’s conference.

To learn more about living and learning in Australia, read i-studentadvisor Australia.