THE state Government will set up an international student roundtable involving police, and will crack down on unscrupulous education providers, in a bid to reassure overseas families South Australia is a safe study destination.

The Government is moving to try and protect its lucrative $990 million share of the international student market, which is now cooling dramatically after successive years of strong growth.

In 2009/10 student visas plummeted 30 per cent nationally: There were 158,240 offshore visas granted compared to 227,924 in 2008/09. Combined onshore and offshore visas fell almost 16 per cent to 269,828 granted in 2009/10.

This was the lowest number in five years and education agents expect the drop to continue this financial year.

The state Government set up a taskforce last year to review student concerns after a spate of attacks, mainly interstate, against Indian students and private college collapses saw prospective overseas students look to other countries to study.

It also initiated a review of private colleges, led by Public Employment Commissioner Warren McCann, whose report will be tabled later this month.

Further Education Minister Jack Snelling said the Government would introduce "strong new regulatory measures" in Parliament to tighten rules and penalties governing private education providers, to allow it to "move quickly and effectively to remove providers from our system who don't play by the rules".

"We'll introduce significantly harsher penalties for non-compliance by providers," he said.

This morning, the Government will release its response to the international student Taskforce, set up last year and led by Education Adelaide chairman Bill Spurr.

The Taskforce said student feedback had been "overwhelmingly positive" but there remained concerns around employment opportunities, accommodation and student health and safety.

The Government's response will be to:

PROVIDE personal safety guides and seminars to incoming students and require all education providers to have safety plans in place by January;

ENCOURAGE employers to hire international students and provide targeted advice on students' workplace rights;

HELP fund a community engagement strategy to involve students in community life;

REVIEW the state's health planning for foreign students, and

IMPLEMENT a roundtable chaired by Mr Snelling, with academic staff, students and community members, to advise the Government and air student concerns.

Police will provide the roundtable with "strategic intelligence and advice to reduce the incidence of crime against international students," the report says.