Key Points
- Jamie Wu, a Melbourne-based international student, says universities treat international students like cash cows.
- She also said many international students get insufficient pay from working in part-time jobs.
- The government will restrict student visa holders to working 48 hours a fortnight from 1 July.
An international university student living in Melbourne says she's "sick and tired" of the poor treatment of international students by employers and universities in Australia.
Jamie Wu, who is originally from Singapore, said she feared she may not be able to graduate because of issues with enrolling in subjects that she hadn't received any help with from her university.
A video she posted struck a chord with TikTok users, as international students navigate the high cost of university fees, which they have to pay upfront.
"International students matter!" she said while banging her fists on a desk.
"I am so tired of being treated like s--- here.
"When we face problems we expect actual solutions not weeks of waiting."
Ms Wu believed Australia was "a really good country" for international students, but said she was tired of them "being treated like cash cows".
"We are not just our money we are actual students who want to learn," she said.
She said she was spending hours on internship applications only to hear that companies were prioritising hiring "local students".
"I get it that in a country you have to prioritise your own citizens first … but I would really appreciate it if you could (specify) if you're just looking for local students clearly on your job applications," she said.
Ms Wu also said many international students get insufficient pay from working in part-time jobs.
"So many international students are getting ripped off … and a lot of them don’t complain because they are in need of that cash," she said.
The latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show about 29,600 international students arrived in Australia between March 2022 and March 2023 to participate in higher education.
As of 31 March, there were over 586,800 student visa holders in Australia, with another 68,100 currently offshore who can travel to Australia.
During the pandemic, the federal government temporarily removed the work-hour cap and allowed international students to work more than 20 hours per week.
But from 1 July, it will be reimposed and restrict student visa holders to working 48 hours a fortnight — up slightly from 40 hours.
The Support Network for International Students (SNIS), is challenging the re-imposition of limited working hours through the Scrap the Cap campaign.
SNIS was established in September 2020 as a collaborative effort between numerous organisations and individuals, including international students and their supporters.
Its coordinator, Ness Gavanzo, that imposing the work-hour cap would "open the floodgates for more abuse of international students because they will have no choice but to accept available jobs".
"The threat of visa cancellation keeps students quiet as it means the end of their futures in Australia," she said.
