Student Visa Course Loophole Closed.
The Australian government has closed a loophole in its visa rules that allowed international students to enrol for cheaper vocational courses as soon as they arrive in the country.
International students can undertake additional courses along with their core studies called the “concurrent study” rule, which is designed to help prepare them for the job market through short courses.
But the government said recent investigations have identified that many were misusing this rule to ditch their university courses and permanently switch to cheaper courses.
There has been a sharp uptake in the use of the concurrent study, with 17,000 concurrent enrolments created in the first half of 2023 versus 10,500 for the same period in 2019 and 2022 combined.
Education Minister Jason Clare stated:
“This change will work to stop predatory ‘second’ providers from enrolling students before they have studied for the required six months at their first provider.”