11 December 2025
THAT’S A WRAP: LATIN AMERICAN FILM FESTIVAL AT GOLD COAST STUDENT HUB
The 2025 Latin American Film Festival on the Gold Coast has officially wrapped - and what an incredible celebration it was! Thank you to all partners, students and community members who joined us for a vibrant week of culture, cinema and connection.
Your support continues to strengthen our relationship with Latin America and highlights the Gold Coast as a welcoming and diverse destination for international students. We look forward to bringing even more enriching cultural experiences in 2026!
The Student Hub opened its doors for five amazing nights, showcasing films from Ecuador, Chile, Colombia, Brazil, Cuba, Panama, Guatemala and Nicaragua. Our partners Bond University and KKTC also hosted screenings on their campuses.
A special thank you to LACA QLD for the ongoing support - we can’t wait to host the festival again next year!
EXPERIENCE GOLD COAST – EDUCATION TEAM: END-OF-YEAR WRAP-UP
As we approach the festive season, we would like to share our end-of-year schedule. The Experience Gold Coast Education Team will wrap up activities on 19 December 2025 and will officially return on 5 January 2026.
The Gold Coast Student Hub will close on 18 December 2025 and reopen on 5 January 2026.
We want to take this moment to wish all our education partners and stakeholders a joyful Christmas and an amazing holiday break. Thank you for an incredible 2025 - your collaboration, energy and commitment continue to strengthen the Gold Coast’s domestic and international education ecosystem.
There is much more to come in 2026, and we are excited for another year of working together.
Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! May this season bring joy, peace and blessings to you and your family.
INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION DATA UPDATE (SEPTEMBER 2025)
As at September 2025, total international enrolments on the Gold Coast reached 30,463, representing a 9% decline from last year’s 33,332. Sector performance continues to vary, reflecting a mixed landscape:
- Higher Education is the only sector in positive territory, up 8% compared with 2024, underscoring sustained global demand for university-level programs.
- ELICOS recorded the sharpest decline (–35%) due to national visa settings and increased student visa application fees.
- VET and Non-Award experienced moderate declines consistent with national trends.
- Schools remained steady with minimal movement year-on-year.
Overall enrolment numbers have remained relatively stable due to strong continuing-student cohorts. However, emerging shifts within the pipeline point to areas requiring close monitoring and strategic action. A key indicator is international student commencements, which dropped to 13,532, a 26% fall compared with the same period last year (18,372). This decline in commencements is the primary pressure point, as it signals potential softening in future enrolments. Strengthening demand-generation efforts, deepening market engagement and prioritising high-performing markets will be essential to stabilising the pipeline.
From a nationality perspective, Brazil, India, China, the Philippines and Japan continue to anchor the Gold Coast’s international student community, supporting a diverse mix across sectors and institutions. Canada’s entry into the top 10 for the first time reflects strengthening interest and growing partner engagement particularly within the Higher Education sector. Several markets are on track to meet or exceed their 2024 totals by year end, including:
- South Korea – 111%
- India – 105%
- Canada – 100%
- China – 99%
- Brazil – 90%
- Chile – 86%
- Japan – 85%
In contrast, the Philippines (76%), Colombia (77%) and Spain (78%) are unlikely to return to 2024 levels.
Overall, the Gold Coast’s international education sector demonstrates encouraging stability, supported by strong Higher Education performance and momentum across top and returning growth markets. However, the decline in commencements remains the critical trend to watch, and will guide Experience Gold Coast’s targeted market activation, partner engagement, and trade mission planning.
GOLD COAST STUDENT HUB: STUDENT SWIM CLUB 2026!
We are thrilled to launch our first-ever Gold Coast Student Hub Swim Club, a 6-week learn-to-swim program delivered in partnership with the Gold Coast Aquatic Centre.
This initiative supports newly arrived students in building water confidence - an essential skill in a city shaped by beaches, waterways and aquatic activities.
Start date: 15 January 2026
Registrations close: 15 December 2025
Places are limited and will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis.
Please share the flyer with your student community.
Students can access via this link: Access here
Let’s work together to support safer, more confident swimmers on the Gold Coast!
A FANTASTIC DAY OUT FOR OUR GESS GRADUATES!
Nine graduates from GeSS Education, together with 13 international students from various institutions, joined us at the Gold Coast Student Hub on the 04th of December for a vibrant afternoon of culture, connection, and exploration.
Students enjoyed a 2-hour HOPO sightseeing cruise, taking in stunning Broadwater and skyline views, followed by a guided tour of the colourful Ken Done exhibition at HOTA, led by an expert curator.
They also took part in Happy Birthday 2U2, Hikoko Ito’s interactive installation celebrating the joy of handwritten birthday cards. Students discovered their unique Birthday Mailbox, collected a hand-drawn card, and created a new one to contribute to the exhibition - continuing a chain of creativity and heartfelt connection inspired by Ito and her late father, artist Sun Chan.
Before departing, the group visited the Student Hub for refreshments, a tour, and an introduction to the free support services available to them.
A fantastic first adventure and a warm welcome to the Gold Coast community!
QUICK SNIPPETS
Job Skills & Higher Education Snippets
Higher Education Outcomes – Key Insights from New National Report
A new report, Higher Education Outcomes – Exploring Administrative Data, provides a detailed look at how Australia’s university graduates transition into the workforce and progress in their careers. Using linked administrative data, the research offers valuable insights to guide future policy and strengthen outcomes across the sector.
Education Legislation Amendment
Following the passage of the Education Legislation Amendment (Integrity and Other Measures) Bill 2025, the Department of Education has released five new fact sheets to guide providers on changes to the Education Services for Overseas Students (ESOS) Act 2000, covering education agents and commissions, fit and proper provider requirements, course cancellation powers, provider registration and processing, and internal review processes. Key updates include broader definitions of education agents that may now capture some casual staff and contractors, new disclosure requirements around ownership links between agents and providers, stronger safeguards requiring consultation before courses can be cancelled, confirmed CRICOS registration exemptions for universities and TAFEs from the two-year domestic delivery rule, and the ability to pause enforcement while internal reviews are underway - changes that will have important compliance and operational impacts across the international education sector.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY
Experience Gold Coast acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we are situated, the Kombumerri families of the Yugambeh Language Region.
We pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging, and recognise their continuing connections to the lands, waters and their extended communities throughout Southeast Queensland.