Skills war: Unis’ plea to relax visa rules in global hunt for talent

With the tertiary sector smashed by border closures, Queensland universities are pleading for help to lure back the world’s finest minds.

University of Queensland

Queensland universities are calling for visa rules to be relaxed to make it easier to attract and bring back overseas students, after the sector was smashed by international border restrictions.

The value of international education nationally almost halved from $40bn a year to $22bn during the Covid-19 pandemic and has yet to recover.

There has been strong competition from other nations as the world reopens from Covid-19, amid a “skills war” to attract the brightest minds.

It has led to calls for flexible visa rights, easier post-study work rules in areas of workforce shortages in regional Queensland such as education, as well as the creation of a new visa to attract top global researchers.

But the Group of Eight, which includes University of Queensland, called for the caps on hours international students can work, lifted during the pandemic to ease labour shortages, to be restored.

It feared that allowing overseas students to work long hours would distract them from their studies and create a “proxy migrant workforce”.

The Group of Eight noted that the international education industry’s revenue nationally had dropped from $40bn and was tracking at just $10.7bn for the first half of 2022. It called for the federal government to consider creating a visa specifically targeted at world-leading university researchers and educators. “Creating a simple pathway to permanence in areas of critical shortage could give Australia a strong advantage over our competitors for talent,” the Group of Eight submission states.

James Cook University has urged the government to consider extending post-study work rights to international students, including those at its Singapore campus, particularly in areas of Australian or north Queensland labour shortages.

A submission from Griffith University recommended that more flexible visa conditions be considered for international education as part of a broader push to grow tourism.

International Education Association of Australia CEO Phil Honeywood

International Education Association of Australia CEO Phil Honeywood said a lack of direct flights to Brisbane Airport meant the state was missing out on market share to NSW, as well as strong competition internationally.

“It’s a skills war at the moment to get bright, young minds into industries around the world,” he said.

Federal Education Minister Jason Clare said there would be an extension of work rights for students who get degrees in areas where we have a skills shortage.

“Post study work rights for select degrees in areas of verified skill shortages will be increased from two years to four years for select Bachelor’s degrees, three years to five years for select Masters degrees, and four years to six years for select PhDs,” he said.

“It is great to see, but there is still a lot more work to do.”