AUSTRALIA'S visa system, including the rule that overseas students must show they have enough money to cover their living expenses, has been exonerated as the cause of the troubles of the export education business.

Instead, the quality of the courses, tuition fees and the cost of living were the big three influences in the decision of foreign students on where to study, a survey by Australian Education International concludes.

The tone of the AEI report is at odds with the Knight review's call for a streamlined visa process and abolition of the requirement that would-be university students prove upfront their financial means are adequate.

Universities had complained that the upfront funds rule, and bottlenecks in visa processing, were big handicaps to attracting students, especially from China.

AEI asked prospective students, parents, agents and alumni in six countries, including China, how they chose a country for study, and the pros and cons of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Britain and the US.

In China, agents ranked the need to show funds as No 6 on a list of nine factors, with education quality first, tuition cost second and the prospect of permanent residence third.

"The survey responses suggest it is the cost of living that is important in choosing a destination, not the requirement to demonstrate funds to cover these costs," the AEI report says.

It says Australia's system for applying to an education provider and getting a student visa was "one of the fastest", while the US system was one of the slowest. In his report, Michael Knight cites the unpublished AEI survey but seizes on the finding that agents in China see Australia as the second slowest to process visas.

Universities Australia chief executive Glenn Withers said the Knight review was beneficial on many levels, but "smaller practical matters do matter, for example visa processing times as perceived in our largest source country for students, China".

Dr Withers said the promise of post-study work rights would help alleviate concerns about the cost of living and allow graduates to aspire to skilled migration places through sponsorship.

In the AEI survey, China agents ranked work opportunities as seventh on the list of nine factors influencing choice of destination. The AEI report suggests the export education industry depends on a trade-off between costs and quality of courses.

"Australia is perceived to be mid-range in terms of the quality of its education, but the current high value of the Australian dollar will be impacting on both the cost of tuition and the cost of living in Australia relative to competitor countries," the report says.

In China, education agents ranked Australia as second lowest for quality, ahead of New Zealand, with the US and Britain in the top two spots.

Sydney migration and education agent Jonathan Granger said Australia had been successfully marketed as a cheaper education destination.

But during the past few years, as the currency made Australia less competitive, universities had gone in for price-gouging, in some cases pushing up prices by more than 10 per cent year after year, Mr Granger said.

This was deeply unsettling to Chinese parents, who normally tried to plan far in advance for their children's future.

China agent John Findley agreed, saying Australia's new "invitation only" skilled migration system was unclear.

"The family's long-term goal (of permanent residence) will be shrouded in uncertainty, so a less risky decision will be made to send the kids to the US, Canada or Britain," Mr Findley said.