Comment: The Permanent Residency Rort

The Permanent Residency Rort
By Martin Davies

Martin Davis discusses the issue of so called institutionalized education. The problem was that international students only had to graduate in a course, targeting the Skills in Demand List provided by the Department of Immigration and Internal Affairs (DIMIA), to be eligible for applying for permanent residency. Some private education institutes and their immigration agents used this institutionalisation to guarantee international students permanent residency in Australia. While this didn't help industry to fill the gap, the biggest problem for students, mainly from India and China was that they were not enlightened about rights and duties. Another door opened for a secondary industry following behind the education sector to exploit international students, mostly in terms of jobs and housing.
Although Davies’ article was published in March 2010, the issue has been followed up already by the Baird Review on the Education Services for Overseas Students (ESOS) Act 2000 (Baird, 2009). One of the most significant findings confirms Davies’ argument about visa factories and exploitation. They are also discussed in more detail in a Senate hearing on student welfare, Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) Senior Industrial Officer, Michelle Bissett (The Senate, 2009a) and Andrew John Bartlett (The Senate, 2009b), Research Fellow in the Migration Law Program at the Australian National University (ANU), Canberra commenting on the issue. Their findings: Immigration agents should be held accountable for providing international students in Australia with sufficient information about rights and duties. Also immigration and education should be split into separate entities to avoid further institutionalization of the Australian education sector.

Reference

Baird, B. (2010, February).Stronger, simpler, smarter ESOS:
supporting international students. Review of the Education Services for Overseas Students (ESOS) Act 2000. Retrieved from http://www.aei.gov.au/AEI/GovernmentActivities/InternationalStudentsTaskforce/ESOS_REview_Final_Report_Feb_2010_pdf.pdf

Senate (2009a, September 18th). Welfare of International Students. Official Committee Hansard, 2-8. Retrieved from http://www.aph.gov.au/hansard/senate/commttee/S12398.pdf

Senate (2009b, September 18th). Welfare of International Students. Official Committee Hansard, 9-20. Retrieved from http://www.aph.gov.au/hansard/senate/commttee/S12398.pdf