Some universities may need to delay course start dates to wait for the students trying to fly to Australia, said post-secondary education expert Claire Field.

Craig Carracher, executive chairman of student accommodation giant Scape Australia, said he expected the Chinese government to step in to get students on planes.

“I would not be surprised to see the Chinese government working harder to deliver more flights to encourage their airlines to solve the flights. Because they’ve got a rule now, and we know the machinery of China can weigh in behind these rules and support it,” he said.

Carracher said Scape, which has 11 apartment buildings across Melbourne’s CBD and Carlton, said his company had been inundated with inquiries since the Chinese government’s announcement and that 80 per cent of its 6000 beds in Melbourne were already occupied.

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Grattan Institute economic policy director Brendan Coates said there would be a scramble for rentals over the next couple of months.

“Assuming that they all do come back, those 40,000 students [coming to Australia] would need something like 16,000 homes,” he said. “In Melbourne and Sydney, that bump would be the equivalent to about a third of the dwellings currently being advertised for rent.”

Student Accommodation Council executive director Torie Brown said purpose-built housing was already close to capacity.

“With students scrambling to return earlier than expected, we will see student accommodation full in many markets – which will put pressure on already tight rental markets as students look elsewhere for places to live,” she said.

Deakin University said it had a range of on-campus accommodation available for international students who require housing.

University of Melbourne said it was assisting students currently overseas with their travel to Melbourne for the start of semester one.

Monash University said it would work closely with the Australian government to ensure a smooth return of Chinese students to physical campuses.

Norton said the announcement wouldn’t be an immediate bonanza for Victoria’s education sector, the state’s largest services export.

“I don’t think this in itself is going to lead to a rapid increase in the number of students, but it’s certainly an important change and overall the unis themselves would be very happy to have them back. But it’s going to be pretty hard to do in a few weeks.”

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