Australia removes cap on working hours for all students, offers refund on visa fee

Australian government has temporarily removed the cap on working hours for all student visa holders, effective immediately. This will include secondary students, and international students working in any sector. These extended working hours rule will be reviewed in April 2022.

Additionally, any student visa holder who is currently offshore and travels to Australia in 2022 between 19 January and 22 March, will be eligible for a refund of visa application charge (VAC) of AUS$630. Anyone currently offshore with a working holiday maker visa who travels to Australia up to 22 March will be eligible for a refund of their VAC of AUS$495.

While some work and immigration policies may be temporary and COVID-specific, Australia appears to be doing a long-term rethinking of immigration strategies as they relate to international students. Currently, almost half of all international enrolments in Australian universities are concentrated in business and management, a proportion the government would like to see shift in favour of areas such as engineering, healthcare, and data and digital industries. Australia intends to put a greater emphasis on offshore delivery going forward.