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As the name suggests, a work-and-study programme meansyou can study in Australia while also having the right to work legally.Work-and-study arrangements currently rely on the Subclass 500 student visa,which allows students to work up to 40 hours per fortnight,enough for most international students to cover their living costs in Australia.

During the pandemic, students working in industries such as tourism and hospitality can be granted a special exemption from the hours cap.

First, Australia isa paradise for workers, and from 1 July 2021,the legal minimum wage rose 2.5% toAUD $20.33 per hour,well above the UK and the US.

At the same time,the range of institutions available for study in Australiais broad,from vocational colleges to public TAFEs,and further up the scale, undergraduate and higher education. The best fit for a work-and-study programme isAustralia’s extensive network of vocational colleges and TAFEs, whichoffer low tuition fees and flexible class schedules, giving students plenty of time to work in a job they’re interested in.

Besides working,a work-and-study programme can also help applicants without strong qualificationsupgrade their qualifications,whereas in China, the main routes to upgrade qualifications are self-study exams, adult college entrance exams, distance education and Open University of China qualifications — all difficult to gain admission to, with a field of study that may bear little resemblance to the applicant’s own career plans.

In Australian TAFE and vocational education,students can choose from courses such as English language, business, management, Western cuisine, automotive repair and massage,giving students a practical skill. And if your English is reasonably good, after completinga migration-eligible course such as automotive repair or Western cuisine, you can also go through a TRA skills assessment, and with an IELTS score,later move on toskilled migrationto stay in Australia.

In practice, a work-and-study programme has only one minimum qualification requirement,which is completion of senior secondary school, vocational high school or technical secondary school —in other words, once you’ve completed a qualification equivalent to Australian Year 12, you can apply for follow-on courses such as a diploma.

So, do you need an English test score to apply for a work-and-study programme? The answer isnot necessarily. While institutions do set certain IELTS requirements for admission, most schools can offeran in-house English test, and passing it lets you go straight into your main course without needing an IELTS score. What’s more,because Chinese passport holders are already classed as Level 1,at the Department of Home Affairs level, applicants are also no longer required to provide an IELTS score.

Of course, if an applicant’s English is genuinely quite weak, they could consider firstapplying for an English language course, then applying for the field of study they actually want afterwards — this also makes the course pathway more defensible.

In terms of age,Newstars has success stories ranging from applicants who’ve just finished high school right through to those in their sixties,but in terms of visa difficulty, younger applicants will always have the advantage — after all, it takes real determination to head back to the classroom in middle age~

At this point, some might say: isn’t a work-and-study programme really just a student visa at the end of the day — can’t I just apply for it myself? Australia’s student visa used to be split into many different categories depending on the level of qualification being applied for, and it’s only in recent years that these were unified into the Subclass 500 visa — though there are actually still sub-categories within Subclass 500.

Forapplicants applying for a qualification below bachelor’s level, the Department of Home Affairs can very readily question the genuineness of their study intentions, to guard against any migration intent,so this is where you need a professional to prepare, on the applicant’s behalf,a detailed GTE statement setting out in full why the study is necessary and what their plans are afterwards.

We’ve seen all sorts of refusal letters over the years, some simply because the case officer felt this “deal” wasn’t worth it:

this is where we step in,re-consolidating the materials in depth to demonstrate the applicant’s genuine commitment to studying, andpersuading the case officer.