Coercion against Australia’s education sector would significantly impact the nation’s prosperity.

Education is the Australia’s only remaining export to China valued over $10 billion annually which is both reliant on China and which Beijing can target without significant self-harm.

And unlike many industries currently subject to China’s economic coercion, education is job-intensive and closely linked to Australia’s technological competitiveness.

The Australian Government has no mechanism to coordinate efforts to diversify education export markets or cohesively promote Australian education, rendering the sector more exposed to coercion.

In the latest Policy Options Paper from the NSC, Dirk van der Kley and Benjamin Herscovitch outline how Australia can protect its education exports from potential economic coercion from China, sharing specific policy recommendations.

Dirk and Benjamin also joined Chris Farnham, Senior Outreach and Policy Officer at NSC, for a conversation about Australia’s education exports, economic coercion and more on the National Security Podcast.