Victoria is the latest Australian jurisdiction to announce a hardship fund for international students, unveiling a A$45 million (£24 million) package for foreign tertiary students.
The state government says up to 40,000 students will receive emergency relief payments of up to A$1,100.
The payments, which will require co-contributions from university hardship funds, are aimed at foreign students left struggling because of coronavirus-related job losses.
“International students give so much to Victoria,” said state trade minister Martin Pakula. “It’s only fair we support them in their hour of need. This virus doesn’t discriminate and neither do we.”
The federal government has courted bitter criticism by denying international students eligibility to some A$200 billion worth of job subsidy and income support payments. While the government’s supporters say benefits should be focused exclusively on Australians, critics say the exclusion is heartless and against the government’s economic interests.
Foreign students delivered over A$40 billion last year, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Commentators say the reputational impacts of the government’s treatment of these students could severely undermine one of the country’s biggest export industries
The Age newspaper reported that international students had been seen lining up in their hundreds at food banks across Melbourne, after many lost casual work at retail and hospitality businesses hit hard by the lockdown.
All comprehensive public universities and every Australian state and territory apart from New South Wales, the biggest jurisdiction, have now announced relief packages of various types. La Trobe University is among the latest to increase support, committing over A$12 million in bursaries, accommodation credits and service fee refunds.
La Trobe vice-chancellor John Dewar commended the state government’s contribution as “a humanitarian step” to address the “dire” financial situation confronting international students. “Many have lost their jobs or access to family support, are not eligible for federal government support and are unable to return to their home countries.”
Deakin University, which has committed up to A$25 million to its own hardship fund, said it had received more than 12,500 applications for help with around 8,000 processed so far. “We want our international students to continue at Deakin,” said vice-chancellor Iain Martin. “As of this week, more than 95 per cent remain enrolled. I hope the extra support will keep it that way.”
The Australian Business Deans Council (ABDC) is the latest group to demand that the federal government pitch in to “bring our international education sector back from the brink”. ABDC president David Grant said the federal government’s attitude to foreign students was “baffling and callous”.
“Our first priority must be to show unequivocally how much we value the personal, cultural, social and economic contributions international students make to Australia," he said. "Otherwise, by year’s end, we stand to lose tens of thousands of students who will rightly feel let down by a country that has been all too ready to take their money but has shown no willingness to help them in their time of need.”
The Victorian fund complements other state assistance for international students, including A$2,000 rental subsidies and free treatment for coronavirus symptoms. Foreign students are also eligible for the Working for Victoria initiative, which connects jobless people with employment in areas from deliveries, data entry and community outreach to aviation and agriculture work.
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