Intl students allowed to return to South Australia

CANBERRA - The Australian government has approved a plan for international students to return to South Australia (SA).

Under the plan, which was proposed by Adelaide University, the University of South Australia (UniSA) and Flinders University, 300 international students will fly into the state between November and January.

On arrival in SA they will be subjected to a mandatory 14-day quarantine period before joining classes.

"The program will operate as a "proof of concept" demonstrating that we can safely manage the return of international students to study in South Australia, when borders open in future," David Lloyd, UniSA vice-chancellor (VC), told News Corp Australia.

The scheme allows for a maximum of 160 Adelaide University students, while UniSA will be able to bring 90 in and Flinders University 45.

However, Australian citizens wishing to return to the country will be prioritized for flights.

"The pilot program represents an important step in welcoming international students back to campus, and its success is crucial in being able to bring more of our international students to Australia when borders reopen," Flinders VC Sebastian Raneskold said.

They will be the second batch of international students to enter Australia since the country's international borders were closed in March to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Charles Darwin University in the Northern Territory (NT) received approval for a similar scheme for up to 70 students earlier in October.

International students generate more than 2 billion Australian dollars ($1.4 billion) per year for the SA economy.