The announcement that the federal government would be removing work-hour caps for student visa holders in the tourism and the hospitality sectors has been welcomed as an opportunity for international students who had stayed in Australia to earn enough to support themselves, save and also send something to their families who supported them during the COVID-19 lockdowns of the past year.
In a press conference with multicultural media organisations on Wednesday following the release of the budget, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that with hospitality workers and international students not returning earlier than July next year, the work hours for students who had remained in Australia had been extended from to 20 to 40 hours a week.
“This is fortunate for students who have remained in Australia,” Mr Morrison said, and added that the numbers who had remained were larger than expected.
READ MORE: More visa flexibility in Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic period
Karolina Prokofieva, who originates from Thessaloniki, welcomed the news as a chance to improve on her current income. Ms Prokofieva came to Australia as a student four years ago and was studying for an advanced diploma in leadership and management (business) through the AISI in Melbourne.
“I will now be able to work full time while I study. The latest news is a big opportunity to earn a good income and to help my family who were supporting me during the COVID-19 lockdowns while they themselves were struggling in Greece” said Ms Prokofieva.
She had worked for 10 years in the hospitality industry in Greece before coming to Australia and would be able to transfer that experience here.
“I worked in hospitality and in the tourism industry since the age of 16 but it was difficult to make any head way because of the poor state of the Greek economy,” she said. “Now I can find a good role in hospitality and I can help my family.”
She said that lifting the cap in other sectors besides tourism and hospitality would have been a great help.
Erika Lizzi came to Australia in 2017 from Novi di Modena in Italy where she worked as a head accountant in an office.
She worked for two years, first as a farm worker in Cairns before moving to Melbourne where she decided to improve her English and study at private college for a diploma in marketing.
She has worked in hospitality and as an office cleaner.
She welcomed the announcement that she could work more hours in hospitality although she said that it would have been better to allow students more hours to work in other sectors besides tourism and hospitality.
“Why just hospitality and tourism?” she asked. “It is very difficult to find a proper job with a student visa. I will look at find more work in hospitality because I will be able to save more money and also send something to my mother in Italy,” said Ms Lizzi.
“Before COVID-19, it was easy to get work, but it is not easy to get work under the current conditions,” she said.
“The government gave international students $1,000 at the beginning (of the pandemic) but it was very tough. I am grateful to stay in Australia but sometimes the Australian government leaves the students behind even if we have paid our taxes we are not allowed the same benefits as a citizen.
READ MORE: Scott Morrison meets with the multicultural press to discuss the Budget
At his conference with multicultural media, Mr Morrison said that that the return of international students was not going to happen in a “binary way”. “I’d like to see students coming back but not all in one hit because that could be very dangerous,” the Prime Minister said.
Temporary visa holders have the opportunity to apply for 408 COVID-19 Pandemic Event Visa which is valid for a year if they work in the hospitality and tourism sectors. These two sectors have been added to a list that includes agriculture, food processing, health care, aged care, disability care and child care which are critical to Australia’s COVID-19 economic recovery.