A parliamentary committee recommendation has sparked fears among educators that it could mean the end of a language being taught in Australia.
In June, the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Education recommended that Australia prioritise four languages — Chinese, Indonesian, Hindi and Japanese — to boost its engagement with Asia.
While the proposal has not yet been adopted by the Australian government, some educators are concerned about the decision not to prioritise Korean — with the South Korean government also weighing in.
The committee proposed placing Korean — along with Vietnamese, Tagalog and other languages — in a separate category: 'supported' languages.
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The committee made several recommendations for the teaching of the priority languages — including Asia Leader Schools (centres of excellence for the teaching of a particular Asian language), Asian language hubs and protection for strategically important university language courses.
A proposed five-point ATAR adjustment for students studying priority Asian languages and more support for teacher recruitment and training were also recommended.
Supported languages would receive a different package, focusing on curriculum and qualifications arrangements, community language programs and teacher accreditation pathways.
The committee argued previous efforts to strengthen Australia's Asia capability had delivered insufficient progress.
Rather than exposing students to many languages without opportunities to develop lasting proficiency, it advocated "sustainable depth over breadth" — creating pathways for students to continue language learning from school through university and into their careers.
In its report, the committee outlined its reasons for selecting the four 'priority' languages.
It warned that, without intervention, declining enrolments could end Indonesian language education in Australian schools by 2031.
When it came to Chinese, the committee highlighted difficulties in continuity between primary and secondary school language programs, leaving some students unable to continue at an appropriate level.
For Japanese, it pointed to pressures on university language education, including course closures at some institutions.
The report also highlighted growing demand for South Asian languages, including Hindi, Punjabi and Tamil, partially driven by Australia's growing South Asian communities.
Yet opportunities to study these languages in mainstream schools remain limited. While Hindi was selected as a priority language, Punjabi and Tamil were placed in the supported category.
The report does not clearly explain how that distinction was made.
The parliamentary inquiry examined Australia's broader Asia capability, including language learning, cultural understanding and regional expertise across education, government and business.
It received 195 written submissions and held 11 public hearings. The Korean Studies Association of Australasia, Korean Education Centre in Sydney and Australia–Korea Business Council were among the organisations that made submissions.
The decision not to include Korea on the recommended priority list prompted Andy Jackson, an associate professor in Monash University’s Korean studies program, to launch an online petition opposing the move.
He told SBS Korean he believed the decision "could be the death of Korean language education in Australia", fearing a lower-priority classification could eventually affect South Korean government financial support for university programs and reduce student enrolments.
Curtin University professor Jo Elfving-Hwang, professor of the Korean Studies Association of Australasia, says there is sufficient demand for Korean language education.
She told SBS Korean more than 4,100 students were enrolled in Korean studies units at Australian universities in 2026 — with the majority of students from non-Korean backgrounds.
Meanwhile, figures from the Korean Education Centre in Sydney show more than 9,500 students were learning Korean across 68 Australian primary and secondary schools in 2024, approximately 1,000 more than a decade earlier.
"The interest is there. Why not build on it?" Elfving-Hwang asked.
Elfving-Hwang said she was also concerned that while the report identified different challenges facing the selected languages, it does not set out a detailed methodology explaining how priority languages were assessed against the others.
SBS Korean contacted the committee seeking an explanation of the criteria used to select the four priority languages and why Korean was not included.
The committee's secretariat said it couldn't respond to media enquiries and directed SBS Korean to the office of the committee's chair, Labor MP Tim Watts.
Watts' office did not provide an explanation of the selection criteria, and said the report was still before the government and no decisions had been announced on its recommendations.
SBS Korean also contacted the Department of Education about the proposed 'supported' classification of Korea.
It said the Australian curriculum "does not place any priority on individual languages" and that decisions about which languages were offered in schools are made by education authorities and schools based on local needs and contexts.
It said it was considering the committee’s recommendations and would respond in due course.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, meanwhile, told SBS Korean that Korean remained a priority language under the New Colombo Plan, which supports Australian university students in studying and undertaking internships in the Indo-Pacific.
Educators are not the only ones concerned about the recommendation to exclude Korean from the priority languages.
The South Korean government has raised the proposed classification with authorities.
The Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Australia told SBS Korean it broadly supported the committee’s efforts to strengthen Australia's Asia capability, but had been actively requesting Korean be included among the priority languages.
It cited the Australia–South Korea Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, strong demand for Korean-language education, and contributions of Korean-language educators and the Korean Australian community.
Some business leaders have also criticised the decision. Julianne Lee, vice-chair of Voice of Korean Australian Business, said Australia needs to consider the professionals it would require to strengthen its relationship with South Korea in the future.
She said stronger bilateral relationships required professionals combining language skills and cultural understanding with expertise in fields such as engineering, finance, research and business.
"This is not simply about protecting a language subject," she said. "It is about whether Australia is developing the people who will be able to research, negotiate, invest and do business with Korea over the next 10 or 20 years."
This sentiment was expressed by Liz Griffin, chief executive of the Australia-Korea Business Council, as a witness to the committee.
"Our two business cultures are vastly different, and without bridging that gap, we're going to lose out on a significant number of economic opportunities in the bilateral relationship," she said. "And at the heart of that is Korean language learning."
A response to the parliamentary committee's recommendations is expected around December, though the timing is not guaranteed.
For now, the status of Korean under existing Australian government programs remains unchanged.
This story was produced in collaboration with SBS Korean.
