The Albanese Government lit a fuse under the international student trade when it used last month’s Jobs & Skills Summit to expand work rights via:
- Uncapping the number of hours international students can work while studying for another year; and
- Extending the length of post-study work visas by two years.
The former Morrison Government’s uncapping of international student working hours last year has already delivered a sharp increase in student visa applications from India and Nepal. And Labor’s maintenance of this policy, alongside its two-year extension to post study work visas, will only turbo-charge international student arrivals even more.
Hilariously, the peak lobbyist for the international education industry, Phil Honeywood, has labelled the uncapping of work rights a “ponzi scheme”, since it will inevitably lead to a surge in non-genuine students coming to Australia to work so they can send money home:
