"This is something that I'm sure we would all welcome happening again but it has to be done with the appropriate quarantine entry arrangements and biosecurity,"he said.
"But I made clear to the states and territories today,if someone can't come to your state from Sydney,then someone can't come to your state from Singapore. If you want to open up borders for international students,then you have to open up borders for Australians."
Mr Morrison said he hoped to be in a position to begin pilot programs next month. He was not concerned that students from China,the largest source of enrolments,would drop off after theChinese ministry of education issued a warning about racist violence in Australia.
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Universities and other education providers,backed by state governments,have proposed "secure corridors" that would allow a small number of international students to return this year ahead of large-scale arrivals from next year.
Vicki Thomson,chief executive of the Group of Eight universities,welcomed Mr Morrison's backing for the pilot scheme.
"We are also mindful of the contribution we can make in this way in establishing best and safest practice for opening Australia's international borders more broadly when the time is right,"she said."There's obviously still a way to go with different states at different stages with their own borders reopening."