With the Australian international borders closed to international students due to the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Australian universities have experienced unanticipated financial losses. At the same time, many international students who would have chosen to study in Australia instead chose to enrol in universities in the US, UK and other countries where the borders opened earlier. The long-term effects of this are unknown, but with borders finally now open again, Australia will need to re-establish itself as a destination of choice for international students. An opportunity to establish a prestigious international scholarship program may be created by the recent sale of the universities' collective investment in IDP Education Pty Ltd. The income generated by this sale could create a source of funding for an international scholarship program which would create goodwill and help to diminish the reputation of Australian international education as predominantly revenue-driven.