It is hard to recall a time in the last 30 years when Australia’s international student visa policies were as poorly thought through and /or implemented as they are currently.
The Department of Home Affairs decisions appear to be made without such consultation and transparency that the sector has been left to try to read the tea leaves about what is coming down the pipeline and what some of the new legislation means.
TKN has seen an update from English Australia to its members detailing an error in the latest English language instrument. This error, which forces a minimum offer of 20 weeks of ELICOS to be made, occurred due to confusion in the development of the instrument, and it is being rushed into force.
In the pathway diploma space, the legislative instrument requires that “specified eligible pathway programs” be listed in the legislation. This means that any new or missing courses will be at the mercy of the legislative timetable. I may stand corrected, but I am unaware of any other legislation specifying individual providers and course names. Isn’t that what the CRICOS register is for?
It has reached the point that even the Coalition, which has incessantly called for reduced migration, is crying out ‘uncle’.
Senator the Hon Sarah Henderson MP, Shadow Minister for Education, has written to Minister for Education, the Hon Jason Clare MP, this week, accusing the Albanese Government of “discriminatory and covert student visa policies” that are causing “immeasurable harm”. In her letter to Clare, Henderson goes on to also claim that only a small number of “elite universities” are being protected, and that regional and smaller universities and private higher education providers are being disproportionately impacted.
At the end of the day, we must remember that there is a human being behind every student visa application. A human being who has dreams and aspirations. It is incumbent on the government to be transparent and equitable about the visa criteria that must be met. How about some stability in policy decision-making while we’re at it?
