The Australian Department of Home Affairs has announced that international graduates with eligible qualifications will be granted two more years of work rights after graduation.
This migration legislative instrument came into force on July 1, 2023.
The Australian Government has also released a list of selected courses qualified for an extended Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485).
UOW Student Career Development Specialist Ms Coreena Schwartz said this decision addresses two main things, the shortage in the labour workforce, and professional skills.
“We rely heavily on the international students in a number of different areas in the labour market,” Ms Schwartz said.
“The government can see the impact in issuing it further, therefore to see how much they can utilise international students.”
Ms Schwartz also said that this is a great opportunity for international students to gain experience in the Australian market.
“They can extend the skills that they already had in their home countries in combination with the working experience after graduation,” she said.
The ABC reported that Australia welcomed almost 30,000 international students under new economic stimulus in the beginning of this year.
International University of Wollongong student Thao Mac said that this change in policy refines Australia’s reputation as a desired destination for studying abroad.
“It attracts more international students to choose Australia for their education,” Ms Mac said.
“This change creates a number of potential benefits for not only Australia’s labor force but also for international graduates to gain practical experience from employers.”
For the last few years, international graduates have been struggling to find jobs and have promptly called for policy action.
Coreena Schwartz said employers’ confusion of the visa process has left many out of a job.
“What we see in the market is that some employers are still not recruiting international students because of visa restrictions and regulations around that,” Ms Schwartz said.
“We are here to help students network and specifically target employers through workshops and consultations on campus.”