Over-reliance on Chinese students putting Australian universities at risk, report warns

A new report has found seven of Australia's major universities are depending on foreign students for their financial survival - a position leaving them vulnerable to political, reputational and financial international changes, it claims.

At least seven of Australia's major universities rely heavily on Chinese international students for revenue and that is putting the institutions at risk of financial collapse, a new report from libertarian think tank the Centre for Independent Studies has claimed.

According to the report, released on Wednesday, the financial risk of the universities' reliance on China ran into the hundreds of millions of dollars annually, with Chinese student course fees accounting for between 13 and 23 per cent of their total revenues.

You can read the full version of this story in English on SBS News here.