Australian govt states changes are to Australias skilled migration programme, not student visa programme

Updated on: Thursday, July 01, 2010

In response to recent media reports on changes to Australia’s skilled migration programme, the Australian High Commission issued a statement to clarify several misconceptions.

The changes, said the release, were to Australia’s skilled migration programme, not the student visa programme.

The changes to the skilled migration programme, announced on February 8, 2010, reflect the evolving needs of the Australian labour market. “These specific labour market needs are determined by an independent statutory authority - Skills Australia,” read the statement.

The changes to the skilled migration programme are global changes. “They are not targeted at India or any other country. They were not triggered by the problems of the last year over attacks on Indian students,” stated the release.

The changes will apply only from July 1, 2010.

In an attempt to dispel rumours on students being sent home, the statement clarified that no students from any country will be sent home on July 1. “Such reports confuse two different categories of visa. The skilled migration visa is completely separate to the student visa. No student, whether from India or elsewhere, currently studying in Australia is going to be asked to cease their course because of changes to our skilled migration programme. They will be allowed to complete their studies. Many have visas that enable them to study courses for several years,” said the statement.

The purpose of the student visa was mentioned in the report. “There is no guarantee of migration just because someone holds a student visa. Any suggestion to the contrary is a misrepresentation of Australia’s clearly stated policy,” it said.

The report issued mentioned that the Australian government has provided “generous transition arrangements to ensure those international students who were in Australia when the changes were announced on February 8, 2010 have every opportunity to fulfil their objectives”.

According to the statement, students, if their objective is to complete their studies, will be free to do so. If their objective is to shift to another course of study, they will be free to do so subject to meeting the entry requirements. If their objective is to stay in Australia to work after the completion of their studies, they can apply for a Temporary Skilled Graduate visa under the old arrangements, which will give them 18 months with full work rights. “They can use this time to find an employer-sponsor, find a state-government sponsor, gain a new skill or get work experience. These are very generous transition arrangements by any measure,” it said.

These transition arrangements apply until the end of 2012 and extend to all people who held student visas at the date of the announcement (February 8, 2010). These arrangements provide students with both the time and the opportunity to explore their options in the Australian labour market before making a decision on their future.

Some media outlets have raised concerns about 'visa capping'. These concerns relate to a Bill that is currently before the Australian Parliament. The amendments proposed in this Bill have been designed to manage the skilled migration programme and ensure it meets the labour market needs of the Australian economy as flexibly as possible. “There are no plans to apply this power to the student visa programme,” said the statement.

Australian govt states changes are to Australias skilled migration programme, not student visa programme

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