Australia Raises Financial Requirements for International Students

One of Australia's top officials said the government of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is concerned about "a completely broken" migration system. Minister for Home Affairs Clare O'Neil made the statement in an announcement about a new policy that affects international students.

O'Neil said the Australian government will require students to have more than $19,000 in savings to qualify for a student visa. That is about $3,000 more than last year.

She said the larger bank accounts will ensure that international students can support themselves while studying. She said having more money will reduce targeting of students for exploitation. The Australian government is concerned that students come to study but spend too much time working in outside jobs.

O'Neil also warned 34 education providers that they might be suspended for "non-genuine or exploitative recruitment practices."

O'Neil called these education organizations "dodgy providers." Dodgy means false or operating without morals. She said the letters will "help weed out the bottom feeders" in the education business.

Some government officials are worried that the schools make false promises to students about how much they can work or the quality of their study programs.

O'Neil also said the bad actors "trash," or hurt, the opinions people have of good schools.

International education is a large part of Australia's economy. During the 2022 to 2023 school year, foreign students added about $24 billion to the economy.

The increase in international students is starting to worry some Australian leaders. As of last September, Australia reported that immigration resulted in 548,000 more people in the country than the year before. The government is also blaming the fast rise in the cost of renting places to live on the increase in short-term visitors.

The government expects the new financial policy to cut the number of new migrants in half over two years.

I'm Ashley Thompson.

Dan Friedell adapted this story for Learning English based on a report by Reuters.

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Words in This Story

ensure –v. to make certain

exploit –v. to take advantage of someone

genuine –adj. real or true

recruitment –n. the process of actively seeking out people to join a school, company, organization or the armed forces

weed out –v. to eliminate bad things or people

bottom feeder –adj. (figurative) someone to aims to profit from the problems of others

rent –v. to pay money to the owner of some property (such as an apartment) for its use for a set period of time

We want to hear from you. Do you know anyone studying in Australia? What do they say about the large number of students from other countries?