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Contact the Hon Jacinta Allan MP, Minister for Regional and Rural Development, Skills and Workforce Participation. Click here.

In your own words express your concern (or the concern of the community that you represent) and write a respectful email or letter and the Minister and ask her to consider discussing with her Government colleagues, including the Victorian Minister for Transport, the Hon. Lynne Kosky, the proposal that international students be provided with the same transport concession rates as local students, as is the case in Tasmania.

Contact the Hon. Jacinta Allan MP, Minister for Regional and Rural Development and Skills and Workforce Participation. Level 36, 121 Exhibition Street, Melbourne, Vic, 3000, Email: jacinta.allan@parliament.vic.gov.au

Conduct some research for JustAct

Find out if your local tertiary education institutions offer the same deal for international students when compared to locals. Check out what emergency loans are available, and note the differences between local and international. Email antony.mcmullen@victas.uca.org.au with the results.

Consider running a community event to welcome and support international students in your area

Be creative! Check out the article here on welcoming international students

Make links with tertiary institutions in your area. Talk to student clubs that involve international students. Talk to your local Council and get them involved.

The Issue

Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. Hebrews 13:2 (New International Version)

There has been a lot of recent media attention about the plight of Indian international students in the community. JustAct held a forum last year (2008), Education at the Edges, which highlighted challenging issues for local and international tertiary students. This month JustAct is focussing on two issues that have a negative financial impact on international students. We finish with a suggestion for local community action.

Public transport concession

Education at the Edges presenter, National Union of Students International Research Officer, Sharon Smith, last year highlighted that over 70% of international students studying in Australia don’t get a public transport concession. She talked about this being seen by most people in the education sector as being highly discriminatory. Victoria has legislated to make it illegal in Victoria to provide a student visa holder with apublic transport concession. To contrast, easygoing Tasmania allows all tertiary students a concession – they don’t negatively discriminate in this area.

Emergency loans

Sharon Smith’s investigation in relation to student loans for international students was just as disturbing. Examples of differences between local and international tertiary students were cited at the Education at the Edges forum. Loans of up to $1500 could be provided to local students for one year, while international students would have to prove it was an emergency, and could only access $500 for six months. Other tertiary institutions would not loan to any full fee paying students, including domestic full fee, but would provide $2000 for all local HECS-HELP place students. Others were not available at all to international students. One university would loan up to $500 to students on one campus but only $200 to international students and on some of the campuses no loans were available at all to international students.

All students, including international students need emergency assistance. Check out this story from a Uniting Church congregation in Essendon…

The Reverend Mark Dunn says that it all started when a phone call came to his office from some students in real need. The welfare support ministry was closed for another week, but there was something urgent and totally genuine in the student’s voice that got to him. The following morning he listened to a painful story of dashed dreams and exploitation from two young Indian women. Malini* and her more confident younger friend Madhu* named their pain, and pleaded for the practical help they had not received from their own congregation. Unsustainable $1,000 per month private tertiary college course fees, $75 weekly rent well overdue, a stolen purse, no job and no food left in the cupboard…
*names changed for publication
Read how the Mark Dunn helped out Malini and Madhu here

What is a student ‘worth’?

High profile academic Professor Simon Marginson and others authored a study last year entitled ‘Australian University International Student Finances’. They accurately predicted calls heard in the media this year for ‘university and government resources to be diverted to the construction of a more effective financial safety net than presently exists.’ The authors believed that ‘if the Australian higher education sector wishes to continue its profitable engagement with the international education market we believe it has a responsibility to apportion a significant proportion of the income it earns from international students to ensuring that there will be a safety net that can limit what they must endure should they get into difficulties.’

According to Sharon Smith, international students are worth about 13 billion dollars to the Australian economy every year. Of course their worth outside of ‘dollar terms’ is much more. They are visitors to our shore who are our guests; and, in some cases, future citizens.

‘Crosslight’ and international student issues

There are stories behind these facts and figures. Uniting Church in Victoria and Tasmania publication, Crosslight, has covered some of the issues that have faced international students and what the community can do about it.

In November 2008, Struggling to Study, highlighted the story of an Indian student; when interviewed he said that the cost of education led him to have no breakfast and no lunch but he could probably afford dinner! More recently there was a story about a Uniting Church congregation holding a welcome function for mainly Indian students where food and clothing was provided. Click here to read.

Showing hospitality

The article on a community doing their bit to welcome vulnerable international students and provide them with practical support could provide some inspiration for others in the community. Perhaps consider getting your community or faith group involved and see what you can do to assist international students in your local surrounds!