Image credit: Heloise Vyas

Article: New
international student visa reforms will allow applicants to use pathway as
means for migration to Australia

Until now, students applying to study in Australia have all had to complete the
Genuine Temporary Entrant (GTE) requirement. The purpose of this document is to require applicants for an Australian student visa to genuinely intend to study in Australia on a short-term basis, with no other motive such as overstaying or working unlawfully.
The current Labor Government wants to drive greater support for study-to-migration pathways, and the GTE requirement is set to be abolished in future.It is understood thatthe visa requirement will be replaced with a “Genuine Student Test (GST)”, under which applicants need only demonstrate that they are genuine students coming to study.This reform is primarily about welcoming highly skilled applicants who can contribute to the Australian workforce after completing their studies, helping to ease the nation’s labour shortages. Policy will be amended to allow those with migration ambitions to come and study in Australia.

The recent policy extending the Graduate Work visa makes it clear that Labor is, at this stage, actively pushing its Big Australia agenda — a policy framework aimed at growing Australia’s population to 40 million.

Image credit: Julie Hare 

Article: Life is about
to get tougher for the record 1m foreign students here

Julie Hare’s article notes thatby the end of 2023 the number of international students could reach 700,000–750,000, an all-time record high.Combined with data from the Australian Department of Education, this shows thatstudents from mainland China mainly choose New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland,with fewer than 10% choosing South Australia and Western Australia. The surge in international students means that employment and migration will become correspondingly harder in future.

For students still planning to study and migrate to Australia, if migration is a future possibility, it is worth considering studying in a regional area outside NSW, VIC and QLD when choosing a school,as this not only earns additional points but, in some states, also opens up graduate pathways. Compared with the fierce points competition in the popular states, migration is relatively easier in South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania.In addition, finding work after graduation is not easy either: NSW, VIC and QLD have far larger local student populations, so while job opportunities are plentiful, competition is greater. It can be wiser to head to a regional area and take up part-time work and internships while studying — getting ahead by taking the overtaking lane.

On 14–15 August Australian local time, Education Minister Huai Jinpeng led a delegation on a visit to Australia. During the visit,Huai Jinpeng held working talks with Australian Minister for Education Jason Clare, Minister for Skills and Training Brendan O’Connor, Governor of Victoria Gardner and Premier of Victoria Andrews; met collectively with the vice-chancellors of 15 Australian universities; and visited the University of Technology Sydney, the University of Sydney and the University of Melbourne,and held discussions with students and scholars in Australia.

The two sides held in-depth discussions on cooperation in areas including China–Australia student exchange, joint research, collaborative education provision and digital education, reaching a series of agreements. During the visit, the two education departments convened the sixth meeting of the China–Australia Joint Working Group on Education Research.

As China–Australia relations gradually return to a stable footing, visas for Chinese students are expected to be assessed more reasonably in future, making it easier to study in Australia.

Image credit: UTas official website

Under its concession policy, the University of Tasmaniais offering international students up to 20 weeks of free English language courses, to help them meet the English language entry requirements they need to complete before starting their degree programme.

Eligibility criteria:

– international students who have already received an offer for an academic English course that is bundled with a full-time degree programme;

– and who commence the English course in 2023 (any English course study period).

– students apply separately

The offer letter will advise applicants whether they have been granted the free English language course concession.

The Australian
National University, known as ANU, is one of Australia’s most prestigious top-tier universities. In the field of nuclear science and engineering, ANU’s nuclear discipline is one of the university’s key areas of study.

The Australian National University has secured close to AUD 10 million in funding from the Australian Research Council (ARC) to strengthen the nation’s capabilities in nuclear and radiation science and in plant biosecurity.

The funding will be used to establish twoANU-ledARC Industrial Transformation Training Centres.

Professor Mahananda Dasgupta is the Director of the ARC Industrial Transformation Training Centre for Radiation Innovation (RadInnovate), which has received AUD 4.99 million in funding. Working in partnership with the University of South Australia (UniSA), the University of Adelaide and industry, the RadInnovate Centre will equip students with the skills they need to advance Australia’s nuclear and radiation science capabilities, provide hands-on training, and offer opportunities to take part in industry and government internships.

Professor Peter Solomon will lead an Industrial Transformation Training Centre, which has received AUD 5 million to strengthen Australia’s ability to prevent, respond to and recover from pests and diseases that threaten the economy and the environment. It will be co-led with James Cook University (JCU) and the University of Canberra (UC), together with more than 20 partners from industry and government.

In addition, ANU is also involved in an Industrial Transformation Training Centre led by the University of Western Australia (UWA) and a zero-emissions, carbon-neutral ARC research centre led by the Queensland University of Technology (QUT).

Due to the increase in applications,the University of Melbourne’s Trinity
College foundation programme is expected to fill up before the offer deadline.

If your English and other academic requirements are currently all met, andyour conditional offer is only showing that it is awaiting your final complete transcript, then you can accept the offer early.Note that most Chinese students already have their complete Year 11 or Year 12 results in July, so the Early Acceptance condition does not apply to the January and February 2024 intakes.

If a student’s offer still carries an English condition, they do not meet the Early Acceptance condition and cannot accept the offer early.

For students who have received a conditional offer but still need to meet an English condition, please plan your IELTS, TOEFL or PTE test dates sensibly and, once you meet the condition, accept your offer as early as possible to lock in your place.

To better assure applicants’ language proficiency and the fairness of testing, Monash University will no longer accept results from online English language tests.Below are the English tests that Monash accepts. Students who are still preparing for a test, please take note.

Image credit: Monash University official website

MonashNo longer accepted— the following English tests:
Toefl ibt special home edition
Pearson Online
Cambridge linguaskill General

If your English test result is a little short, there’s no need to worry — you can pair it with an English language course. If you’d like to know more, scan the QR code below to get in touch.

Catch up on past articles

All the FY23–24 state nomination quotas are out! Will this financial year be a good one?

This programme means no more agonising waits for quotas year after year. No points race, low English requirements, and fast processing for all occupations!

2023