Reports on Indian students' deaths inaccurate, says Australia

The Australian government on Wednesday contested the claims that 54 foreign students, nearly half of them Indians, have died in that country in 2008 saying the reports "did not contain accurate statistics".

Maintaining that the Australian government was working quickly to implement a series of initiatives to improve the security for international students, a statement issued by the Australian High Commission in New Delhi said, "Articles on this issue in today's Australian newspapers did not contain accurate statistics about crime-related deaths of international students in Australia."

The statement said the articles referred to the information presented to Australian Parliament in February which simply reflected the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) records deaths for whatever reason (be it accident, illness, or others).

"As DIAC is reliant on others providing advice when a death has occurred, DIAC records should not be used as a basis for determining the number of deaths or the cause of death of international students," it added.

According to the Australian High Commission, even if the newspapers' figure of 54 deaths of international students in Australia over a year is used, "this would represent a death rate of approximately 0.15 per 1,000 population.

"The figure is significantly less than death rates for the general Australian population of student age. For example, the death rate for persons aged 20-24 is 0.5 per 1,000 population," said the High Commission.

The Australian government, the statement also said, is "committed to ensuring that people settling in Australia, temporarily to study or work, or permanently to live, have support and assistance to become fully functioning members of the Australian community".