Abstract
The underlying framework adopted by the Committee to Review the Australian Overseas Aid Program demands that Australian aid helps to promote the economic development of the recipient less developed countries. If it does not, then the humanitarian, political and economic arguments for giving aid lose much of their cogency. This approach is evident in the treatment of overseas students. The Report recommends a vastly expanded scholarship program because it recognises the central role played by education in economic development. It recommends a different geographical and academic composition for the scholarship scheme because it supports the developmental thrust of Australia's aid program. It recommends also the development of education as an export industry because it believes Australia is competitive in this lucrative trade. It sees no conflict in having Australian educational expertise being used for aid and trade purposes, and does not recommend that trade is more important than aid. It should thus be clear that the current government policy on overseas students is not based solely on the reports of either this Committee or the Committee of Review of Private Overseas Student Policy. It is a compromise between the two and, as with most compromises, suffers from a number of inconsistencies.