Building Australia’s Asia capability in practice

Successive Australian governments have grappled for decades with a persistent challenge: how to better understand our place and identity in the region, and how to engage with our neighbours in Asia. Most recently, the parliamentary inquiry into building Asia capability released its final report (Opens in new window). Proposing a ten-year National Asia Capability Strategy and offering 34 recommendations, the report notes that these skills have never been more important for Australia’s future security and economic prosperity. But what are these skills, and what does “Asia capability” look like in practical terms?

The report defines “Asia capability” as “the cultural understanding and knowledge, language skills, and professional networks which enable effective engagement with the region”. It divides these skills into “generalist” (broader knowledge and appreciation of Asian languages, politics, economies, and cultures) and “specialist” (detailed expertise and mastery in an Asian languages/s and culture/s).

Proficiency in Asian languages remains fundamental, but Asia capability requires more than language skills alone. It also involves knowing how diverse Asia is and how societies across Asia work, understanding multiple histories and political systems, developing relationships and networks, and being comfortable operating in unfamiliar cultural and professional environments.

Importantly, the report highlights a striking paradox in Australia’s current approach. While Australian governments have recognised the strategic importance of Asia, Asian language education programs at all levels across the country have struggled with declining enrolments (Opens in new window), funding pressures (Opens in new window), and closures (Opens in new window). This skills pipeline is narrowing (Opens in new window) just as demand is lifting.

So, what is working in building up students’ Asia capability, and how we can upscale these initiatives?

One of the strongest examples is Australia’s New Colombo Plan (Opens in new window) (NCP), launched in 2014. Over the past 12 years the NCP has awarded more than 55,000 grants and scholarships to undergraduate Australian students to live, study, and intern in 40 countries across the Indo-Pacific. It has transformed the scale of opportunities for Australian undergraduates to study, work, and build relationships across the region. The program is now moving into a new phase, with a greater focus on longer-term experiences, Asian languages, and stronger professional connections.

Indonesia, one of the top destinations for Australian NCP students, has amassed a community of some 13,000 alumni, and offers a particularly illustrative example of what works well in building Asia capability skills.

A new book out this month, Experiencing Indonesia: 30 Years of ACICIS (Opens in new window)(ANU Press), tells the story of the Australian Consortium for “In-Country” Indonesian Studies (ACICIS (Opens in new window)), which began in 1994 and has since facilitated study programs for more than 5000 students in Indonesia, the majority since 2014 with NCP support.

ACICIS demonstrates what genuine immersion can achieve. Its model has evolved well beyond traditional language and area studies. Australian students can now undertake programs spanning journalism, business, law, creative arts, tourism, public health, and other disciplines, combining academic study with professional and experiential learning. The result is graduates with authentic experiences who have formed friendships and professional relationships, encountered different perspectives, and had their assumptions challenged.

The ACICIS example highlights the important role in-country study plays, because Asia capability is difficult to acquire from a classroom alone. In-country experiences build through repeated encounters with people and institutions, through language, curiosity, and navigating unfamiliar environments. Experiencing Indonesia explores how in-country experiences can shape individuals, universities, and bilateral relationships. It highlights that the benefits flow both ways: Indonesian partner institutions and host communities are active participants in the exchange, with Indonesian students, lecturers, and volunteers benefitting from reciprocal experiences, deepening professional and academic linkages.

But overseas mobility cannot solve Australia’s Asia capability problem alone. Students need pathways into Asian languages before university and opportunities to continue them afterwards. The recommendations of the parliamentary inquiry provide a blueprint: strengthen language learning across the education system, improve coordination between schools and universities, and develop stronger links between education and the skills Australia needs. The next step is to ensure that students returning from programs such as ACICIS and the NCP can convert their experiences into professional capability through work experience, employment, and continuing engagement with the region.

Australia should also make greater use of its Asia expertise (Opens in new window) at home. Diaspora and migrant communities, including Australia’s substantial international student population, are an underused resource for building connections and understanding. Asia capability should not be conceived solely as something Australians acquire by travelling overseas; instead, it is deeply ingrained in the modern Australian identity.

The opportunity now is to connect these pieces. For Australian students, there is much to be learnt from our region, and from spending time immersed in its communities, campuses, and workplaces. One of the NCP’s greatest strengths has been in “normalising” the idea that an Australian university education can, and should, include serious engagement with the region. Returning to Australia, there is a unique opportunity to connect alumni with diaspora communities and create pathways into professional opportunities that leverage their experiences abroad and meet the needs of Australian workplaces. If done well, Australia is best placed to deliver this kind of Asia capability-building: informed by our strong relationships and deep engagement with our region, and a deeply personal expression of contemporary, multicultural Australia living and breathing Asia capability every day.