International students in Australia are struggling because of reduced working hours and rising prices

The day she arrived in Australia to begin her study abroad journey, Ha An did not think that there would be a time when she would struggle to ensure a living income.

Student in Melbourne, Australia. Photo: AFP

An, 19 years old, has been studying at Kaplan Business School in Sydney, Australia since last fall. Along with studying, An maintained a part-time job at a fast food chain to ease the burden of studying abroad costs.

However, with the Australian government re-imposing limits on the number of working hours for international students amid rising living costs, An said he is facing financial pressure as he is unable to make ends meet. Ensure the number of shifts necessary to provide enough income to maintain a living.

An's average weekly working time has decreased from 22 to 18 hours. The decrease in income puts An in a fight against rising prices of essential goods and living expenses in Australia.

An said his spending habits have been forced to change significantly.

"I had to switch to shopping at Vietnamese markets because prices there were lower," An told VnExpress International . "In general, I now shop less and limit my spending on non-essentials."

An is not the only international student affected by the Australian government's new working hours regulations. Riya Kattady, who is studying for a Master's degree in engineering at Western Sydney University, told The Guardian in July 2023 that she started making her own coffee at home when buying takeaway coffee from a coffee shop "became a thing." luxury" due to reduced income.

"Nowadays I have to carefully consider every expense," Riya explains. "I can't work overtime anymore... I have to save and plan everything."

The Australian Department of Home Affairs has established a new policy, effective from 1 July 2023, limiting international students to working no more than 48 hours per fortnight during term time. This marks a major change from the previous policy of allowing unlimited working hours.

"This policy applies to all international students living and studying in Australia, to create conditions for them to have the financial ability to pay for their own studies, while ensuring that learning always comes first," the Australian Department of Education and Training conveys in a regulatory announcement, on the official website.

Challenges that international students face when working also include the risk of being underpaid. According to a 2023 report by the Grattan Institute, cited by Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) , one in six migrants in Australia receive wages below the national minimum wage.

Grattan Institute economist Brendan Coates said international students are also part of this target group. At the same time, their young age also contributes to their likelihood of being paid lower wages.

"Limiting working hours makes them even more vulnerable to lower wages," he said.

With the minimum wage for workers aged 21 and over in Australia being 21.38 AUD (343,313 VND) per hour, the report shows that 5-16% of new immigrant workers in Australia are paid less than this level. . Of those, 1.5-8% receive wages below the minimum hourly rate of at least 3 AUD.

According to Times Higher Education , a survey of more than 6,000 participants, as part of a project funded by the Australian government, indicated that 45% of participants wanted to work more than 48 hours per fortnight.

Specifically, 27% want no limit on working hours. 11% want the limit to be raised to 50 hours per fortnight, and 7% support a 60-hour limit.

"They want to be free to decide," said Ly Tran, an international education researcher at Deakin University, Australia, and the project's leader.

In addition to limited working hours, rising living costs, including rent, food prices and transportation costs, have also made the difficulties faced by international students more serious.

According to a report published in January 2024 by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the consumer price index in this country increased by 4.1% within a year of the report's publication.

Michelle Marquardt, head of price statistics at the Australian Bureau of Statistics, said a 4.6 per cent increase in housing prices and a 4.4 per cent increase in food and non-alcoholic beverage prices were the main factors driving inflation.

However, some people, like Yeganeh Soltanpour, president of the Council of International Students in Australia, support the policy of limiting working hours. Responding to the Sydney Morning Herald , Yeganeh argued that allowing international students to work unlimited hours in the past had led to many students missing classes and failing to get grades due to work overload.

Minh Hang, 25 years old, a psychology intern in Melbourne, Australia, also appreciates this policy because he believes it will encourage students to focus more on their studies. Hang herself also said that her major is heavy, so having to comply with working time limits helps Hang have more time to hone her professional knowledge.

Despite realizing the potential benefits of reducing working hour limits, Hang had to move to rent a house in an area far from the city center but more affordable to save money.

Australian authorities have implemented many measures to address the above challenges. It can be mentioned that the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA)'s efforts to fight inflation through increasing interest rates to a 12-year high of 4.35% in July 2023, aimed at controlling Inflation is around 2-3%, according to The Guardian .

According to Reuters , Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also announced in January 2024 that the government was looking for new solutions to reduce pressure on living costs without increasing inflation.

"We have asked the Treasury and the Ministry of Finance to consider measures that can reduce the cost of living burden on families without putting pressure on inflation," Prime Minister Anthony said in a meeting. press conference in Sydney.

While authorities and international students work together to find ways to overcome current challenges, the 645,516 international students in Australia - according to August 2023 data from ICEF Monitor - must continue their efforts.

"I feel worried," An said. "With the high cost, I'm not sure if I can afford to stay until I finish my degree."