Angus Dalton, Billie Eder, Millie Muroi, Anthony Segaert and Angus Thomson reporting in the Sydney Morning Herald.
Thousands of international students are bracing for the dual threat of wage theft and dodgy housing schemes as the federal government withdraws pandemic-era laws that allow them to work unlimited hours and authorities require onshore study.
“The work restrictions are going to be implemented at the same time that all students can no longer study offshore,” Stimson said. “There’s more students, less income, and there’s already pressure on affordable rental properties. It is a recipe, I think, for disaster.”
Tens of thousands of international students have now returned to Sydney, reinvigorating the $12 billion industry in NSW.
A rule which restricted international students to working 40 hours per fortnight was lifted during the pandemic to address labour shortages. However, the federal government has announced it would reinstate a cap, at 48 hours per fortnight, on July 1.
Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil did not answer the Herald’s questions. The Department of Home Affairs said in a statement: “The government considers 48 hours a fortnight as an appropriate balance between work and study, acknowledging that study is the primary purpose of the student visa.”
Stimson, however, is concerned that cutting international students’ working hours will reduce their ability to afford suitable housing in a city crushed by a rental crisis.
“Right now students are in a financial position to perhaps be able to pay the increases because they can work beyond 40 hours per fortnight, but when that is removed and they’re dropping back down, does that mean that the accommodation no longer becomes affordable?”
Read the full article here (March 5, 2023).
