Thousands of international students stuck in ‘limbo’

Encouraging thousands of international graduates to “stay and struggle” in Australia is doing more harm than good, a new report has warned.

Relaxed study rules will see the number of temporary graduate visa-holders in Australia nearly double to about 370,000 by 2030. Picture: NCA NewsWire/David Geraghty

Only half of overseas students living in Australia secure work after graduation, scathing new figures have revealed, amid a federal government crackdown on student visa fraud.

A new Grattan Institute report laid bare a harsh reality facing more than 600,000 young people who flock to the nation’s universities in hopes of landing a stable job.

It found just more than 50 per cent land full-time work after finishing their studies, with most working in low-skilled roles and earning less than $53,300 per year.

Grattan’s economic policy program director Brendan Coates said the government was targeting struggling students and placing unnecessary pressure on the housing market.

The government gives ‘false hope’ to thousands of graduates who will never gain permanent residency, the report said. Picture: Dean Lewins/AAP.

“We shouldn’t keep offering so many international graduates false hope about being able to stay permanently in Australia when most clearly can’t,” Mr Coates said.

“It erodes public trust in our migration program. It hurts the long-term prospects of those graduates who do stay permanently.”

There were about 654,870 student visa holders in Australia in July this year, according to official data.

This is forecast to reach up to 750,000 by the end of 2023 after the government eased visa restrictions in February to attract more overseas students into the country.

International education is the country’s fourth largest export, pitching in about $26.6bn annually. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Damian Shaw

According to the Grattan report, the government’s “generous” policy will leave tens of thousands of young people “in limbo” working in low-paid jobs unrelated to their career aspirations.

“Most worryingly, one in three recent temporary graduate visa holders return to further study after their visa expires, typically to study a lower level VET course – suggesting that the visa is not acting as a stepping stone to full-time work in their chosen profession,” it said.

The report said a major policy overhaul was needed and called on the government to cut the duration of post-study work visas for international graduates.

It pushed to raise English language requirements for graduate visa holders and limit graduate visas to people younger than 35.

‘These reforms would cut the number of graduates we leave in limbo while ensuring Australia continues to attract the best international students and help the best graduates to stay,’ Mr Coates said.

Education Minister Jason Clare is cracking down on ‘unscrupulous players’ in the international education sector. Picture: Emma Brasier/NCA NewsWire.

New findings come after Education Minister Jason Clare announced a crackdown on visa loopholes to prevent people from entering Australia on student visas without actually studying.

Mr Clare teased a wave of reforms that he said would stop “shonks and dodgy operators trying to exploit students and make money out of it”.

“Students from around the world choose to come here first and foremost for the high-quality education we offer,” Mr Clare said.

“The government will outline further measures to crack down on dodgy and unscrupulous players in the international education sector in the next few days.”