Some argue that education is one of Australia’s most powerful—and underleveraged—tools of statecraft. Governments across the region consistently rank education as a top priority for external support, including in the Lab’s own Pulse Check x Southeast Asia.
With a new Assistant Minister for International Education and growing pressure to deliver both strategic value and development impact, government will be considering what Australian can offer. There are different views on whether should increase investments in early learning in the region, lean into being a destination for study, or back stronger regional education systems.
We asked three contributors: Should Australia double down on education support—and if so, what would a 2030-ready investment look like?
Absolutely, Australia should double down on education as a tool in our international statecraft. For several years I’ve been arguing that Australia has lost its edge as a destination for top international students from Southeast Asia, especially from the region’s middle income countries. A combination of factors have caused this: tougher competition from both established and emerging destinations, the limited number and scope of Australian scholarship offerings, and unfriendly policies (the cost of an international study visa has risen to $1,600, non-refundable and may rise further).
This is a wasted opportunity for two reasons. First, educating students from our region helps support the improvement of human resource capacity in developing countries. This aligns with many countries’ priorities and is integral to the history of Australian aid dating back to the 1950s and the inception of the Colombo Plan. But international education also drives human connections and contact, helping to boost understanding and interpersonal connections between Australia and its neighbourhood. At a time when governments are looking to combine development effectiveness with strategic impact, education already ticks both boxes.
International education policies should be evaluated with a view to both goals – human development and people connections. For example, Australia could support the mass delivery of TVET qualifications, or transnational education programs, or overseas university campuses. These options tick the human development box but won’t build the same people connections as the more traditional approach of bringing students here to study.
The appointment of a new minister responsible for international education is one positive signal that Australia may be starting to value this national asset more highly. With the Trump administration imposing much stricter scrutiny of all international student visa applications, Australia should urgently review what scope it has to expand and improve its offering for students from our region.
Susannah is the Southeast Asia Program Director and the Project Lead for the Asia Power Index at the Lowy Institute. Her research on Southeast Asia is focused on strategic alignment dynamics and the roles of external powers including the United States, China and Australia. Her experience spans leading Australian Think Tanks and government. At the Lab, we love Susannah’s data driven assessments that power her sharp insights on the region.
The Pacific region has one of the most under resourced education systems in the world, and in the face of shrinking international aid, the doubling of Australian aid contributions to education would not only fill a gap but also transform the lives and futures of children.
Across the Pacific, only 43% of year four students demonstrated minimal proficiency in foundational literacy according to the recent Pacific Islands Literacy and Numeracy Assessment (PILNA). This is in part due to poor school readiness and inadequate attention to emergent literacy in the preschool period. The foundations for language and learning are established in the first six years of life, long before the child ever steps in the primary school classroom.
Australian investment in addressing both quality and access to early childhood education especially for children in rural and geographically dispersed populations would radically shift the chance for a stronger start for children across the Pacific. Investment in education technology for real time data use, teacher training and remedial education for struggling readers in the early primary grades is also a smart investment for closing the achievement gap.
Ministries of Education urgently need agile and responsive data systems that can track individual student progress and identify learners in need of targeted intervention before they fall behind. Technology enabled catchup programs can be utilised to meet the differentiated learning needs of students.
To be truly 2030-ready, Australia’s education investments must prioritise early childhood development, foundational literacy, and smart use of technology to close learning gaps. Doubling down now would not only meet urgent needs but also build more resilient and equitable education systems across the Pacific.
Caroline is a global education expert with more than 15 years' experience in education and early childhood development, working across Africa and the Asia-Pacific. She also has extensive experience in children’s book development, design, publishing and distribution. At the Lab, we admire Caroline’s combination of front-line early education work with leadership in transforming education systems.
Australia's historical commitment to education support in Southeast Asia and the Pacific has been instrumental in fostering human capital and regional ties. Looking towards 2030, the question isn't simply whether to increase this support, but how Australian investment shall evolve to ensure maximum, sustainable impacts in the region.
Australia’s aid portfolio has concentrated on early education and skills development—financing infrastructures, teacher training, and vocational programs—while higher-education engagement has largely taken the form of outbound scholarship. A 2030-ready strategy for Australian education support necessitates a nuanced approach. Targeted scholarships will still add value, but their emphasis should shift to fields such as STEM, digital literacy, climate resilience, demographic transition, and sustainable agriculture—areas of acute demand where Australia holds a comparative advantage. In the Lab’s Pulse Check, Southeast Asian experts highlight two key areas: expanding access to Australian tertiary education and supporting local education reforms—both critical for cultivating sustainable and high-quality human resources. Thus, the core priority must become in-country capacity building rather than simply issuing more “’tickets to Australia’."
Australia possesses significant educational expertise that can be leveraged to amplify its contribution to regional higher education through sharing education technology, advising on policy reforms, and supporting curriculum updates. Central to this will be ongoing investment in teacher professional development, equipping local educators with contemporary pedagogical skills and subject matter expertise. Furthermore, long-term partnerships between Australian and regional institutions, particularly through joint research on emerging challenges, will strengthen higher-education systems capacity, and enhance bilateral ties across Southeast Asia and the Pacific.
2030-investment in education will not be merely about aid. By moving beyond a scholarship-centric model, Australia can position itself as a genuine partner in nation-building through education. Strategic investment in local systems enhances partners’ human-capital bases and responds directly to their development priorities—transforming aid into mutually beneficial and forward-looking collaboration.
Tien has worked as a Project Assistant with the Lab to deliver its flagship Pulse Check x Southeast Asia survey and analyses on various aspects of Australia’s engagement in the region. He is a policy analyst and advocate specialising in economic and development policy, currently pursuing a PhD in Economics at the Australian National University. Tien has worked on research and policy with international and national development agencies in Southeast Asia. At the Lab, we love Tien’s sharp analytical approach and his recommendations for gourmet coffee.
