Australia's new move, intl. students get more work-time in agri

David Littleproud. Australia’s Minister of Agriculture, made an announcement lately. It was made with the intention of encouraging temporary visa holders, including international students, to extend support to Australian farmers taking great efforts to find workers during the COVID-19.

To this end, the Australian government is giving more flexibility to visa holders. The government is allowing international students to work in Australia in the agricultural sector for more than 40 hours per fortnight. 40 hours has been the limit on work hours for students in the normal case.

This new decision adds to the changes made earlier this year for International students who work in the healthcare sector. The government’s commitment towards supporting Australian farmers as much as the commitment to support visa holders willing to take up more work while they study in Australia.

The new changes to the terms for temporary visa holders will also give them easier access to the COVID-19 Pandemic Event visa (Subclass 408).

The COVID-19 Pandemic Event visa (Subclass 408) lets foreign nationals who are unable to move out of Australia to stay back in the country legally while assisting in critical sectors to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Over 5,600 Subclass 408 visas have been issued to support the farming sector in Australia since April 2020, when it was introduced. Eligible candidates can apply for this visa up to 90 days before their current visa becomes invalid or they don’t need to show their attempts to leave Australia.

Apart from those working in the agricultural sector, the student visa holders can also work extra hours if:

• They have joined work under and aged care Approved Provider or an aged-care service provider funded by Commonwealth, holding a NAPS ID or RACS ID before September 8, 2020
• They have joined work under a registered provider for National Disability Insurance Scheme
• They have joined work in a course related to healthcare and they are offering support to the health efforts against COVID-19 under the direction of Australian health officials

If you are looking to Study, Work, Visit, Invest or Migrate to Australia, talk to Y-Axis, the World’s No.1 Immigration & Visa Company.