Australia Allows International Students to Work More Hours To Mitigate Staff Shortage

Students from outside Australia will be allowed to work more hours to help alleviate the country's worker shortages caused by the outbreak of Omicron Covid-19. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced that student visa holders will no longer have the restrictions to work more than 40 hours a fortnight.

This will remove the cap on the number of hours that student visa holders can work. In May 2021, the 40-hour work limit was lifted for hospitality and tourism visa holders. However, those with working visas are required to be fully vaccinated before they can enter Australia.

Students and backpackers are also allowed to visit Australia on the condition that they are fully vaccinated. Due to the rise of coronavirus infections, many factories and food distribution businesses experienced worker shortages.

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People who have close contact with those who have respiratory illnesses or those who are experiencing food shortages in New South Wales and Queensland are also allowed to go to work. High-risk contacts, such as those who have a positive Covid-19 case, are required to take a rapid antigen test once a day until their isolation period has started.

On Wednesday, May 9, 2022, some Victorian workers will be exempted from this requirement. This exemption applies to those in critical facilities and transportation. In response to the growing number of Covid-19 cases, Australia's health officials are considering expanding the number of workers who can leave their homes and establishments without being isolated.

Mark McKenzie, the CEO of the Association of Convenience and Petroleum Marketers, said the new regulation is good news for the industry.

Mr McKenzie said that the extension of visa hours will help the industry's struggling workforce. He said that around 10 to 12 per cent of their members were isolated due to the outbreak of Covid-19.

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The issue in the fuel industry is different from that of the grocery industry and unlike the grocery industry, the fuel industry has a small workforce.

Despite the government's decision to allow international students to study in Australia, the country's international students still spend a lot of time at university.Many international students fail to realize that there are various changes in their studies and employment requirements in Australia.

The additional work that international students have to do to accommodate the country's worker shortage could make it harder for them to meet their deadlines. The biggest question that the country's employers ask is whether international students should be allowed to work as skilled workers instead of studying.

Source:ABCNews