A federal crackdown on international students exploiting the visa system is looming.
Education Minister Jason Clare said changes to be announced next week would close loopholes that allow people to enter the country on
to work in Australia without actually studying.
This will be one of several visa reforms to be announced in the wake of a review of the immigration system conducted by former Victoria Police commissioner Christine Nixon.
The review was commissioned by Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil following reports of
human trafficking and exploitation within the visa system
.
Clare said the changes aimed at
were needed to protect the education industry.
“Where there are shonks or dodgy operators trying to exploit students and make money out of it, it’s important that we crack down on this fast to protect the integrity of the system,” he told Sky News on Sunday.
“International education is a key asset for this country, it’s the biggest export we don’t dig out of the ground.”
Mr Clare said changes had already been implemented to crack down on potential visa rorting by banning international students from enrolling in two courses simultaneously during their first six months in Australia.
The new measures would “tighten the screws”.
“(Some students) might get approached by an education agent telling them to enrol in a vocational course,” Clare said.
“They drop out of the university course and never turn up to the vocational course.
“They end up using the (student) visa as a backdoor just to work here.”
(SBS)
