Australia to grant post-grad work extensions to international students

Today, more and more students are choosing Australia as their study destination. Now the Australia government has added one more reason to come to Australia for studies. It’s their decision to grant two-year Australian post-grad work extensions to international students graduating from the higher education institutions of Australia with an eligible degree. Starting from July 1, 2023, international graduates of healthcare, teaching, engineering and many other degrees will be able to stay and work in Australia for a maximum of six years after completing their studies. Further, Australia has also increased the working hours cap for students from 40 hours biweekly to a more flexible cap of 48 hours. These improved working rights would help the students and qualified graduates in a big way.The Department of Education, Australia Government, revealed the eligible fields of study that will qualify students for Australian post-grad work extensions on February 21, 2023. As per the announcement, students in the following fields will be eligible:

• Health Science 
• Medicine
• Nursing
• Dentistry
• Veterinary Medicine
• Medical Imaging
• Radiology
• Psychology
• Therapy
• Optometry
• Pharmaceutical Science
• Teaching
• Early Childhood Education 
• Engineering
• Information Technology
• Computer Science 
• Cyber Security
• Agriculture 
• Biotechnology
• Food Science

Further, all doctoral graduates, irrespective of their field of study will qualify for the extra two years of post-study work rights. So, they would be able to stay in the country for a maximum of six years after the graduation. 

The eligibility of the students will be determined based on the start date of their program. It will not be affected by any potential changes to the occupation list in the future. 

So,

• The bachelor’s degree graduates will be eligible for four years of work extension.
• Master’s degree graduates will be eligible for five years of work extension. 
• Doctoral degree graduates will be eligible for six years of work extension.

Even if a student does not qualify for the two-year extension, they can apply for a Temporary Graduate Visa or Subclass 485. This is also called the post-study work visa.

With the post-grad work extensions, graduates would get enough time to stay in the country, find a job and then apply for permanent residence. As the extensions are provided in the sectors where there is a severe labour shortage crisis, the employment opportunities in these sectors would also be high.

In short, this is a great opportunity for those who wish to study in Australia and migrate to the country. If you are interested to know more, connect with CanApprove now.