With Australia opening its borders to overseas students, many are now taking the opportunity to come to Australia to pursue their studies. However, with the government expected to end unrestricted work rights for student visa holders in June 2023, many students are now wondering what changes to expect from this decision. The end of unrestricted work rights for student visa holders will undoubtedly have a significant impact on the lives of current and prospective students alike, so it is important for them to be aware of the changes that may come with this policy. Knowing what to expect can help them make the right decisions and help them navigate the post-June 2023 environment. This article will explore the changes that student visa holders may face after unrestricted work rights end in June 2023.
Australia has long been a world-leading destination for students. This can be attributed to a number of factors, including the country’s strong economy, high standard of living, and excellent education system. A majority of international students choose to study in Australia for one of two reasons. Some choose to come to the country to study tourism or hospitality, while others come to study business or engineering. For the 2018/19 academic year, the most popular destination for international students was the Australian Capital Territory with over 35,000 students. The second most popular destination was New South Wales, which had over 30,000 students. These numbers are expected to grow even more over the next few years as the Australian government makes an effort to encourage even more students to come to the country to study.
The government is also working to ensure that the process of getting a student visa to come to Australia is as easy as possible. The government recently passed a new law that aims to simplify the student visa process by allowing students to apply for their visa from anywhere in the world instead of just at a designated Australian consulate. The goal of this new law is to reduce the time it takes for students to receive a decision on their visa application.
With the government’s decision to end unrestricted work rights for student visa holders in June 2023, there will be several changes to the student visa system. The most significant change will be that student visa holders will not be allowed to work full-time. Right now, student visa holders have the right to work 40 hours a week while they are studying at an accredited educational institution. After June 2023, they will only be allowed to work up to 20 hours per week. To make up for the loss of this income, student visa holders will be allowed to apply for financial assistance through the Australian government’s Student Financial Assistance Scheme. This scheme is designed to help cover the cost of full-time study.
It is important to note that these changes will only apply to Student Visas Subclass 500. There is also another type of visa, called the Student Visa Subclass 574, which allows for unlimited work. However, this visa is only available to certain types of students, such as those studying a language, music, art, or psychology. It is also only available if the student’s course is less than two years long.
RecruitOnline is an online platform that allows employers to advertise jobs to potential employees, manage candidates, and conduct interviews. It also has a robust system for managing student visas.
Employers who use RecruitOnline can designate set a maximum number of hours and frequency (e.g. 40 hours over a fortnight) against an employee and once set the system will not allow that employee to be rostered for hours greater than the maximum. This allows employers to meet their obligations under the law to only hire legally employed workers. It also means that employers can keep track of which candidates are eligible to work legally. Another helpful feature of RecruitOnline is that it allows employers to manage the process of ensuring that employees always have current visas and advise when a visa is expiring. It will also stop an employee being placed into a role if their visa has expired.
The post-June 2023 environment will likely bring about significant changes for student visa holders. While this may present some challenges, it is important to remember that these challenges are also opportunities. With a little creativity, employers can leverage these changes to their advantage by using tools like RecruitOnline to manage student visas and ensure compliance with the law.
Founded in 2017, RecruitOnline combines 20+ years of recruitment expertise to deliver a tailored all-in-one platform built by recruiters for recruiters in Blue Collar and Healthcare. Integrating ATS, CRM, and multi-channel recruitment marketing, it streamlines hiring with seamless onboarding, intelligent workflows, built-in compliance, and AI-driven insights. Optional add-ons like the Candidate Mobile App, RecruitChatBot, and PinvoiceR further enhance efficiency by simplifying scheduling, automating tasks, and managing payroll and invoicing.
