Australia Will Reduce International Student’s Work Hours

Australia is all set to bring back the cap on working hours for international students but with a catch.

The new rule will come into effect on 01 July and re-introduce a cap on the number of hours international students can work to 48 hours per fortnight.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, student visa holders were restricted to working no more than 40 hours a fortnight but this was removed during the pandemic to address workforce shortages.

The relaxed working hours rule will end on 30 June and the new cap will apply to all international students, no matter when they began studying.

The revised cap will help international students to support themselves through their studies while maintaining study as the primary purpose of their visa, the Australian government said.

Australia’s Post-Study Work Rights

The Australian government has announced that a two-year extension of post-study work rights is available for international graduates with select degrees that are in areas of verified skill shortage.

This extension will give eligible international higher education graduates an additional two years on their Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485). The extension is in addition to the existing additional one to two years of work rights for eligible students who study, live, and work in regional areas.

For select Bachelor's degrees, post-study work rights will be increased from two to four years, three to five years for select Masters's degrees, and four to six years for all doctoral qualifications.

According to reports, as of 31 March, there were over 586,800 student visa holders in Australia, with another 68,100 currently offshore who can travel to Australia.

‘Scrap the Cap' Campaign

One group working for the welfare of international students, the Support Network for International Students (SNIS), is challenging the re-introduction of limited working hours through the ‘Scrap the Cap’ campaign.

The campaign aims to permanently lift the work-hours cap to give international students the same rights as other workers in the country. This will help avoid wage theft and workplace abuses that are endemic in the international student community.

As part of the campaign, SNIS is organising a series of activities, including an online petition, videos, an open letter, lobbying, and protests. The group encourages everyone to show their support for international students by signing their online petition and following their Facebook page.

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