By Gloria Leung
International university students believe the policy reforms by the Australian Government have reduced them to the status of cash cows.
International students say their tuition fees have greatly contributed to the Australian economy, but this does not mean they are all “wealthy”.
The lucrative amount has undoubtedly changed Australian public universities' business model. International students are the nation’s fourth-largest export, contributing $48 billion to boost the Australian economy, according to SBS News.
Since the decline of the COVID pandemic, the enrolment of international students in higher education has skyrocketed: Bachelor, Master, and Doctoral degrees, according to the Australian Institute Thinktank.
With the shortages in the rental market and inflation happening at the same time, it has left international students bewildered. They are confused by two apparently conflicting policies. The Government released the Migration Strategy on 11 December 2023 and announced a cap on international students' enrolment on 11 May 2024—both axing international students’ dream to study and work in Australia in the long term.
The International Student Officer of the Queensland University of Technology (QUT)’s student union, QUT Guild, Jovan Fersando, says many international students who hope to pursue a better career and experience the culture in Australia are now unsure of their future because the sudden policy changes.
“I can’t explain the disappointment,
“Students who came here a few years back, expecting their (Temporary Graduate Visa subclass) 485 visas was going to be of a five-year duration type visa, but now it has been cut down to two to three years,” he said.
One of the main confusions, Mr Fersando says there needs to be, is that The Government needs more public inquiry into the policy reform and an explanation of why it is raising the bar and application fee on applying for study or work visa programs and putting a cap on incoming international students.
He says The Government should give international students an expectation of the changes instead of taking over their blank dreams overnight.
Mr Fersando says along with the emotional ride they are experiencing with the sudden changes in student visas, having to sustain their lives with the limited working hours has put them under a financial burden.
Student visa holders work no more than 48 hours fortnightly. He says that he is working in a paid internship and as an international student officer simultaneously, which has constrained his time commitment to do more research to improve QUT Guild’s services.
“You have to give up an opportunity to get another opportunity”.
The international student officer of The University of Queensland (UQ)’s student union, UQU, Anshul Phaugat, says one of the main reasons international students are willing to bear the expensive tuition fee in Australia is that in some countries, studying overseas guarantees a brighter career prospect when students return home.
Australia has nine universities listed as the top 100 universities worldwide, and UQ is one of them, according to Education Times, a well-known website that measures university rankings.
He says international students find speaking out about their financial burdens sensitive because they pay more tuition fees, which may sound contradictory.
Mr Fersando says the newly introduced Prac Payment also reflects the inequity international students are facing; it is an additional financial burden.
“International students are treated as some sort of cash cows because we're paying so much on tuition fees.
“I feel like it is unfair if a mandatory placement for them to learn is unpaid because they've put up their time to actually work in Australia,” he said.
On May 6, The Government introduced a new Commonwealth Prac Payment for a limited number of eligible students who undertake a mandatory work placement in teaching, nursing, and social work courses in higher education and vocational education and training (VET). UQU published a media release on May 7, saying The Government is doing very little to improve placement poverty. They urge The Government to open the door for international students to access payment.
Mr Phaugat says it is not a matter of how much funding the government is willing to allocate for international students but of their contributions and willingness to provide a stable and healthy education environment.
“We don't want to violate that system and be a part of it (the Centrelink), we just want support, which helps us get a better education,” he said.
He says it is unfair that the government is not considering paying for international students in student mandatory work placement.
“It’s ridiculous, to be very honest.
“When you talk about students, you cannot discriminate between domestic and international students, everyone is a student.”
The UQU released a media release on April 8 stating that working in mandatory placement requires out-of-pocket money, so there is no work/placement-to-life ratio to explain students’ hardship thoroughly. Marni Tavener, a nursing and midwifery student, said in the media release the placement shifts change weekly over the 4+ weeks of unpaid full-time hours. She said finding a part-time job that allowed her to work flexibly was difficult.
Mr Phaugat says some international students often need to apply for education loans to help with tuition fees and living expenses. They have to work part-time jobs to sustain and alleviate their families' financial burden.
He says they might need to take a break or withdraw from university because they are not financially viable anymore. They cannot balance out working part-time jobs, unpaid mandatory placements, and studying.
Some also struggle with extending their student visas because of the hard cap on visa approvals and the enormous increase in visa fees, according to the Australian Financial Review.
The president of UQ’s Association of Postgraduate Students, Richard Lee, says having to save money for the year-long work placement is a norm for many students. As a PhD candidate in education who now tutors at UQ, he says he has seen students dropping out of their degrees in the midst of work placement during their final year. There are international students who cannot complete their degrees when returning home after spending three-fourths of their time and money on the degree.
He says compared to the 1990s, the university is detached from the broader society nowadays. The Government has to cater to multiple opinions from different parties when making policy decisions, such as those who think university is a good investment, while some may disagree.
“I think The Government makes a lot of policies not necessarily based on the financial state but public opinion,” he said.
Although universities, such as UQ and QUT, offer welfare support and career consultations, they say the tertiary sector reform in Australia is the most crucial and prominent. Welfare support is only a stop-gap solution amid the cost-of-living crisis, according to a media release by the UQU on 7 March 2024. They say the government should better support students while they study to contribute more to society.
Mr Fersando says more QUT international students receive welfare support, such as the Food Bank, which provides free basic groceries. He says international students often feel isolated because of their financial and food insecurity and fear of speaking out about their struggles. Some may feel ashamed and helpless.
He says QUT Guild will introduce a visa assistance program consultation in June to support students with concerns about the ever-changing student visa and Temporary Graduate Visa policies.
He said the government needed to discuss its uninformed decisions and other unnecessary limitations on international students in the near future to clear the air, they simply want to build an independent and professional profile in Australia.
This article is one of the highly graded assignments in my feature writing unit. I enjoy covering socio-economic and political issues!
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