In 2025 any educational institution in Australia must have professional staff to provide pastoral care and welfare support to international students. But before 1990, international students in Australia were supported by and in the community, through organisations known as Co-ordinating Committees for Overseas Students. Australian and international students also worked together to provide support and advocacy through the Overseas Student Service (part of the National Union of Australian University Students). These efforts enmeshed students with parts of the Australian community and gave many Australians from all walks of life an opportunity to meet with international students.

Dr Kent’s research has been focused on understanding how these organisations operated and worked with international students. Did these Co-ordinating Committees offer students what they needed, and why was the Australian government so committed to keeping international student welfare “in the community”? And who were these people so committed to international students, well before working in international education became a viable career path?

This project aims to understand an important element of Australia’s international education history, and to understand what happened when the formal links between international students and Co-ordinating Committees was broken.