I didn’t think, in my life, that I’d be recording a podcast… and I definitely didn’t think I’d be talking about taxation in India. Yet here we are.

In this episode of Global Horizons, Rob Malicki and Dirk Mulder are back for 2026, slightly dazed by how January vanished, and diving straight into the stories that are shaping the international education conversation right now.

We start with the politics-meets-perception problem. Net overseas migration is down (the numbers have shifted materially), but the public debate is still running at full volume. Dirk breaks down the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics release and why departures are a big part of the story that often gets missed. Then we get into student housing, including the latest student accommodation signals coming through from Barnard’s reporting on purpose-built student accommodation demand.

A few highlights we unpack along the way:

• What the latest migration figures suggest, and why the “bubble” effect post-COVID is still working its way through

• Why departures matter just as much as arrivals when people talk about students and housing

• The global trend in purpose-built student accommodation demand, and what’s changing in student expectations

• The surprisingly important India tax changes that could reduce friction and cost for families sending money overseas

• The submissions closing for the Australian Tertiary Education Commission legislative review, and why the sector is nervous about how decisions get made

Then we bring in our guest, Jessie Gardner Russell, National President of Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations. Jessie takes us inside the reality of postgraduate life right now, including food insecurity, cost-of-living pressure, and why career support is showing up as a much bigger need for international postgrads than domestic students.

Jessie also explains CAPA’s work on a big, practical question: if PhD stipends sit below the poverty line, what does that do to research productivity nationally, and what happens if you fix it?

We also cover:

• The HECS repayment threshold change, and why it matters for fresh grads

• The placement payment, what it solves, and where the gaps still are (hello, allied health)

• The employment support problem for international postgrads, and why it’s a missed opportunity Australia can’t really afford

If you’re trying to make sense of the headlines, or you’re working inside the sector and want the deeper context behind the noise, this one is for you.

Global Horizons is a production of The Global Society, Australia’s Learning Abroad support company. Our editor is Len Zamora and our distribution specialist is Angelo Ablao.

Rob Malicki is the executive editor and host. The podcast wouldn’t be possible without The Koala News, Australia’s international education news website. This episode is supported by Choosing Your Uni, Australia's unique, AI-powered platform that helps domestic and international students to find the right institution for them, and that helps Australian institutions to access new markets.

For guest suggestions and feedback, email podcast@globalsociety.com.au