With Australia’s borders closed for an extended period and international students unable to enter the country, competition among schools for student enrolments has intensified. Since the JobKeeper wage subsidy ended on 31 March this year, a steady stream of private colleges have run into financial trouble and been pushed to the brink of closure. In this environment, choosing a professional and reliable study-abroad agency and reputable partner institutions matters more than ever.
Another school is now on the verge of closing, which means every student enrolled there needs to arrange a follow-on course immediately – otherwise their visa could be at risk.
It’s essential to compare carefully and choose a well-established, reputable agency with a strong track record to manage your course and visa. Larger agencies tend to have better resources and more robust management systems, and are better placed to select high-quality partner institutions – making it far less likely you’ll run into a closed school, an agency you can’t reach, or tuition fees that seem to vanish. Australia has no shortage of agencies of every size, but only a handful have stood the test of time. As the industry moves forward, those who can’t keep pace inevitably fall behind. Only agencies that hold to their principles, deliver genuine service, and stay true to their original purpose can withstand the test of time.
Newstars has 20+ registered migration agents and lawyers on hand to help safeguard your visa. Newstars has always gone all-out to support students, working side by side with you through difficult times. Since the pandemic began, we’ve spared no effort to help our community, and this time is no different! If you or a friend’s school is closing and you need to arrange a new course urgently, please get in touch with us as soon as possible!! This helps make sure the course transition goes smoothly and doesn’t affect your student visa. We can arrange courses in business, early childhood education, nursing and more at short notice.
We always stress that no visa matter is too small, so don’t take risks with your own situation – especially when it comes to a student visa. Stay on top of your course and comply with your visa conditions. A student visa is usually just the starting point of your life in Australia, with all sorts of visa pathways to plan for afterwards. Amid the pandemic, the advantages of a student visa have become even more obvious, with plenty of extra benefits. Today we’re rounding up what benefits student visa holders currently have access to.
Work-Hour Limits Eased for International Students!
According to the latest update on the Department of Home Affairs website, due to COVID-19 lockdowns affecting some regions, student visa holders working in supermarkets or related distribution sites can work more than 40 hours per fortnight during lockdown. This applies to six categories of students:
1. Employed before 8 September 2020 by a government-approved or Commonwealth-funded aged care provider, and holding a RACS ID or NAPS ID
2. Employed by a registered National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) provider
3. Enrolled in a health-care related course and carrying out COVID-19 prevention work under the direction of health officials
4. Employed in the Australian agriculture sector
5. Employed in the tourism and hospitality sectors
6. Working in a supermarket or related distribution site within a lockdown-affected area
Even with these relaxed work-hour limits, international students still need to keep up with their studies on schedule while working – otherwise your student visa remains at risk.
NSW Students Can Get Free Food Hampers Delivered to Their Door!
Foodbank Australia is the country’s largest hunger-relief organisation, offering a free home food-delivery service. International students affected by lockdown can apply to receive this for free.
Simply enter this website in your browser: http://www.foodbank.org.au/NSW
Fill in your details as required, including your name, school name, student number, email and phone number, and address. Once you receive a confirmation email, your application has been successful! Just wait patiently at home for delivery. The hamper includes a range of vegetables, fruit, tinned seafood, various drinks, staple foods, snacks and more – a really thoughtful touch! If you need it, you can apply right now!
NSW COVID-19 Disaster Payment
This payment is for anyone whose work has been affected by 8 hours or more due to the pandemic. International students with work rights are eligible to apply too!
From 3 August, the payment rate has increased. If your work hours are reduced by 8-20 hours a week, you’ll receive $450 a week; if reduced by more than 20 hours a week, you’ll receive $750 a week.
Eligibility Requirements
An Australian resident, or holder of a visa with work rights
Aged 17 or over
Unable to work, or with work affected by 8 hours or more, due to a COVID-19 lockdown
Not receiving other government income support, and without access to paid pandemic leave
How to Apply
First register a MyGov account, then call Centrelink on 1802266 and ask the staff for your Linking Code and CRN to link to Centrelink. After that, you can go from the MyGov homepage into Centrelink to apply for the Disaster Payment. You can also ask the staff on the phone to submit the application for you directly.
Documents Required:
Basic personal details: name, date of birth, phone number, email, address, and date of first arrival in Australia
Documents: passport, visa (subclass and grant number)
Last date worked, and weekly working hours
Employer’s company name, phone number, address, and ABN
Bank details
If you hold a student visa and meet the criteria, go ahead and apply! Given that a student visa comes with so many benefits, who exactly is eligible to apply for one?
Part-Time Study: Your Student Visa Is About to Expire
Compared with other Australian visas, the part-time study visa has a relatively low entry threshold and a comparatively high approval rate. It allows a long single application period, comes with legal work rights, and includes health insurance. Course scheduling is very flexible, attendance requirements are relatively relaxed, and you can bring family members along as accompanying dependants. Most importantly, there’s no requirement around age, academic qualifications or English test scores, which is why it’s one of the most popular visa categories in Australia.
If you’re on this type of visa and aren’t ready to leave Australia yet, you can extend your student visa for 2-4 years depending on your plans, and stay on in Australia. Many students wonder what course could possibly run that long to allow such an extended renewal. Don’t worry – we’ll plan your renewal pathway based on your course history.
Visitor Visa: About to Expire
Many people have entered Australia on a visitor visa for all sorts of reasons, and over the past year or so, most have already renewed it at least once. If you still don’t want to leave and don’t want to keep renewing over and over, you could also opt for a part-time study visa, giving yourself 1-2 years to stay in Australia while studying and working legally at the same time.
462/417: Working Holiday Visa About to Expire
Generally, once you arrive in Australia on a working holiday visa, you only have a one-year stay period, and applying for a second working holiday visa requires meeting certain conditions. If your visa is expiring and you want to stay in Australia legally for more years while retaining work rights, a part-time study visa is also a top choice.
Parent Guardian Visa: About to Expire
If your child has turned 18 and can no longer be accompanied on a guardian visa, but you still want to stay in Australia long-term, you can also consider a part-time study visa. It’s worth noting that guardian visas are subject to Condition 8534, which requires a waiver before you can lodge a new visa application. We’ve helped many guardian parents obtain a waiver and go on to successfully renew their student visa – if you’re on a parent guardian visa, be sure to contact us early to prepare your documents.
A Gap Between Visas: When Your Next Visa Doesn’t Line Up
This situation tends to come up most often with partner-type visas – for example, wanting to lodge a guardian visa linked to a student visa, or a partner migration visa, but not having enough evidence of the relationship to lodge before your substantive visa expires.
In this situation, you can plan according to your circumstances – whether to lodge a short-term bridging option, or aim for a longer-term visa to secure more time.
Timing your visa renewal correctly is critical – get it wrong and you could end up spending money unnecessarily. We recommend contacting a consultant 1-2 months in advance so they can assess your situation and give you the most suitable advice.
During this unusual period, international students should keep pushing forward and make the most of the time to grow. We hope the pandemic passes soon and everything gets back to normal.
