“An international student doing a university degree would take three years to do the course, then would need a temporary graduate visa, get relevant work experience, then go on a temporary entry visa which would have much higher and harder levels of requirements. And after three years on that, then they might get permanent residency.
“Why would I do all that when I could do a six-week course for very little money and have permanent residency in two years?”
Under the aged care industry labour agreement, workers can be nominated by their aged care employer if they have remained in a job for two years.
They will also be eligible for streamlined visa nomination and priority visa application processing and need no work experience after they have graduated from their course.
Visa applicants need only a certificate III vocational course or higher to be eligible. English language requirements have been dropped to just 5.0 – a score of 5.5 is considered the absolute minimum to study in vocational institution. Universities require 6.5 and higher.
However, even lower English proficiency skills will be accepted for people working in facilities with relevant community languages.
The visa applicants must earn at least $51,222 a year to be eligible for employer nomination for residency.
Brendan Coates, economic policy program director with the Grattan Institute and lead author on a new report on migrant worker exploitation, said the changes would alter student behaviours.
“I expect a lot of graduating international students will opt for this visa since it gives a pathway to permanent residency after just two years,” Mr Coates said.
“That will increase demand in aged care courses in the vocational sector and could lead to a repeat of the de facto visa shops we saw with students enrolling in hairdressing courses years ago.
“But unlike the hairdressers, these graduates will have to actually work for two years before they qualify for permanent residency.”
Mr Coates said there was also the risk of worker exploitation by unscrupulous employers.
Phil Honeywood, chief executive of the International Education Association of Australia, said the new rules would again threaten the reputation of the international education sector.
“It will very likely be a case of history repeating itself,” Mr Honeywood said.
“We can also expect to see a surge in new colleges offering short, cheap qualifications in qualifications that might be a bit loose on quality.”
However, a spokeswoman for Immigration Minister Andrew Giles said the aged care industry labour agreement had been “carefully considered and informed by a tripartite approach and is supported by business, government and unions”.
“The Howard-era settings were a result of poor planning, conflating education and migration pathways. The Albanese government’s approach focuses on employment and helps address workforce shortages in a balanced manner,” the spokeswoman said.
International students have long been the backbone of low-skilled jobs in the hospitality sector. A Morrison government decision to uncap work hours was considered wrong-headed by many in the education sector, and raised concerns that people were using student visas as a back door to the jobs market.
Hours will be recapped to 24 hours a week from July 1. However, students who are already working in aged care facilities can continue to work unlimited hours until the end of the year.
