The 2021-22 budget has added salt to universities’ COVID wounds

The federal government’s budget announcements this week included nothing new for universities — an industry hit particularly hard by the pandemic border closures and loss of international students.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg on Tuesday night confirmed Australia’s border is likely to remain closed until mid-2022. Research from the Mitchell Institute found a third academic year of few new international students (2022) would cost Australia about A$20 billion a year — half its pre-pandemic value.