THE China market returned to decline late last year, suggesting that news of the Knight visa reforms has yet to have any effect.

Student visas granted offshore to Chinese fell 20.6 per cent in the last half of the year, compared with the same period in 2010.

"Clearly we would have hoped for an upturn on the back of the Knight recommendations," said Phil Honeywood, executive director of the International Education Association of Australia.

The September quarter had recorded an atypical 18.7 per cent increase in offshore visa grants out of China.

The reforms, which have enabled university recruiters to promise streamlined visa approval and post-study work rights when they begin later in the year, were announced in September. Some new rules took effect in November, but key measures are yet to take effect.

In the latest student visa report, covering July-December, offshore grants of higher education visas to Chinese fell 22.4 per cent. "It's a combination of the Australian dollar and competitor nations (such as the US and Canada) becoming much more receptive to student visas," Mr Honeywood said.

The September quarter had shown a 24 per cent increase in offshore higher education grants to Chinese. "The increase in September was a blip in an otherwise downward trend," said Sue Blundell, executive director of English Australia, which represents English language colleges.

That was the first quarter to show growth in both offshore visa applications and grants since decline began in July 2009, she said.

She said there had been an industry view that the good news of the reforms would be followed by a fall-off in student demand until the new system began.

Averaged across all student visa classes, offshore grants out of China fell 8.9 per cent in the second half of last year compared with the same period in 2010.

"Application lodgements from offshore Chinese nationals have been declining over the last two quarters and this has affected grant numbers," the Department of Immigration and Citizenship said in its report.

On Monday, the China Daily Asia-Pacific edition reported on the Knight reforms, quoting a Beijing education agent as saying they would make Australia a more attractive destination.

However, the article also cited a report saying Australia was the third choice, behind the US and Britain, for Chinese keen to study overseas.

Mr Honeywood said the significance of the Knight reforms would have been well known to prospective students in China soon after they were announced.

"The education agent network is very rapid and (news) penetrates the marketplace very quickly," he said.