Victoria Premier Ted Baillieu has accused the Australian government of “effectively strangling” the international student market, and has announced that he will join forces with his New South Wales counterpart Barry O’Farrell to push for wider changes to the nation’s visa restrictions.
Baillieu has described Canberra’s recently announced fast-track student visa program that gives foreign students, including those from India and China, the right to two years of post-study work – provided they graduate with a university degree, as a “knee-jerk reaction” that will threaten his state’s 5.8 billion dollar international education industry.
Baillieu and O’Farrell share concerns that the reforms focus too much on universities and not enough on the vocational education sector, where falling enrolments are the most severe, The Age reports.
The Liberal premiers are expected to use the next Council of Australian Governments meeting to challenge Prime Minister Julia Gillard to further ease visa restrictions, with Victoria arguing the changes should be based on the type of qualification students get, not just that it comes from a university.
“The Victorian government is concerned that the Commonwealth have effectively strangled the international education market with a knee-jerk reaction that is threatening a 5.8 billion dollar industry in Victoria,” Baillieu’s spokeswoman told The Sunday Age.
“Victoria is developing a number of initiatives to grow our international student market, particularly from key countries such as China and India. However, the Commonwealth’s actions have been inadequate and are threatening this important economic sector,” the spokeswoman added.
Under the Commonwealth’s changes, adopted from the Knight review into student visas, foreign students who undertake a university bachelor degree will have access to a streamlined visa system and the right to two years’ work after graduating, without a restriction on the type of job.
They also will no longer have to prove they have more than 75,000 dollars in their bank account, bringing Australia’s system into line with other countries such as the US, where students simply declare they have the means to support themselves.
However, vocational training colleges will have to wait on a second review, due next year, before they see major changes to processing arrangements for their own international students.
Figures from the Immigration Department show offshore grants (visa approvals) for the vocational education and training sector fell by 44.6 per cent between June 2009-10 and June 2010-11 – including a 64 per cent decline from China, and a 90.1 per cent fall from India. University offshore grants fell by 18.3 per cent over the same period.
While universities have welcomed the changes adopted from the Knight review, others in the sector have called for a level playing field to avoid irreparable reputational damage. (ANI)
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