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Future Economy

1.    International Education

Education is Melbourne’s second largest and formerly largest export.  In Australia, it is a larger export earner than gold, natural gas, wheat, and even beef.  In fact, Access Economics equates it to around 1% of GDP; providing around 100,000 jobs to the economy.

The fall in offshore applications for all education markets has seen a drop of nearly 23,000 students in 2011, resulting in 11,500 Australian jobs lost.

If the current drop is not cause for alarm, then the future projections out to 2015 should be.  By 2015, some forecasts predict a drop of nearly 70,000 students against future expectations.  If this occurs, it will result in 35,000 fewer Australian jobs in the broader economy.

As global uncertainty envelopes all industries, it is important to not view the international education sector as an isolated victim.  It is actually a strong indicator of threats to the broader economy. 

The Committee has long supported the higher education sector and believes that for Melbourne to be a first-choice destination for international students; visa rules must be eased and overseas students must be supported when integrating into Melbourne culture.

Culture Card Victoria

The Committee and the Victorian government collaboratively launched the Culture Card Victoria Program in May 2010 upon learning international students coming to Victoria experienced varying levels of connectedness to local life and culture.

Culture Card is distributed free to international students via tertiary education providers.  It provides international students opportunity to access a range of sporting, arts, and cultural experiences throughout the year.

The program has played a pivotal role in improving the international student experience in Melbourne and Victoria, and has thus promoted our city and state as a “destination of choice” for international students.

Welcome to Victoria™ 

Negativity surrounding migration and refugees, strict international student visas rules and random attacks on international students have encouraged an outside perception of Australia as an unwelcoming country. 

The Committee believes in order for more overseas and interstate students to choose Melbourne as a place of study and employment, Australia must urgently work to reverse its negative brand image.

Therefore, the Committee in partnership with VECCI developed and launched the Welcome to Victoria™ initiative in September, to fulfil the desires of many businesses to help international students assimilate into Melbourne culture.

The aim of Welcome to Victoria™ is to create safe and welcoming workplaces to help new employees increase their local area knowledge, thus improving safety, productivity and integration into community via a best practice guide.

Businesses that commit to The Seven Principles of Welcome to Victoria™ will be recognised as a committed employer of the program.

2.    Social Investment

Melbourne is the corporate social responsibility capital of Australia and home to many large philanthropic foundations.  It is also the focal point of all major International Aid and Development Institutions, such as the Red Cross.

Socially motivated contributions from corporations, foundations and other private sector organisations have predominantly been in the form of philanthropic donations.  However, there is now a realisation that engaging organisations to link philanthropic activities with core business objectives can achieve greater social impact.

Encouraging business decisions to anticipate a double-barrelled financial and social return can produce greater social investments and more sustainable and long-term solutions to community needs. 

Prior to 2010, organisations had little guidance on how to invest in social return.  Heeding this call, the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) created a set of four universal Principles for Social Investment (PSI).

Committee Members have been crucial in bringing the new world-wide Secretariat of the UNGC’s PSI to Melbourne.