International students are being encouraged to study at regional universities rather than in major cities under a Federal Government plan to ease population growth in Australia's capital cities.
But international-student advocates warn more incentives are needed to make it a viable option.
Australia is hosting an unprecedented number of international students, and almost all are choosing to settle in the country's capital cities.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics says more than 786,000 international students enrolled in Australian universities last year -- but just over 3 per cent of them in regional areas.
The Federal Government wants to see that percentage increased.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison is believed to be considering a plan to force more international students to study at regional universities in a bid to ease overcrowding in Sydney and Melbourne.
Regional universities say they are open to the idea.
Annabelle Duncan, vice-chancellor at the University of New England, in the north-eastern New South Wales city of Armidale, says there are many advantages to regional study.
While regional universities are pushing for the proposal to move forward, the body representing international students fears those universities lack the necessary facilities right now to make it a viable option.
The president of the Council of International Students Australia, Bijay Sapkota, says he believes it could deter students from studying in Australia at all.
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