With Australia in the midst of a population boom that is putting its major cities under enormous pressures, the Federal Government has announced a new initiative that is designed to attract domestic and international students and workers to regional areas of the country. The aim of this policy is to not only maintain Australia’s firm position in the international market, but also to match migration to the needs of rural areas. With job vacancies of humungous figures existing in Australia’s regions, the Government is opening its doors to skilled and talented migrants to help boost the workforce and equip rural areas with vital resources. This remodelled initiative aims to provide additional incentive for international students to study, work and live in regional Australia, where they can progress their studies or careers while enjoying a unique and enviable lifestyle.
This policy has a number of components that can be of interest to prospective international students and skilled migrant workers. We’ve broken them down below to outline what may potentially be available to you :
New regional visas.
The Australian Government has introduced two new regional visas, with 23,000 places available to skilled migrant workers. People with this visa will be required to live and work in regional Australia for at least three years before they are able to apply for permanent residency in the Land Down Under. While a year has been added onto the required living period since it was formerly two years, migrants living and working in Australia on this visa will be rewarded through access to priority visa processing and a larger pool of jobs on the eligible occupations list to choose from.
New tertiary scholarships.
To encourage both domestic and international students to study at Australia’s regional universities, over 4,000 scholarships will be awarded over the next four years. Approximately 1,000 scholarships, each worth $15,000, will be granted to both Australian and international students every year under this policy, but, these scholarships will only be available to students who want to study at regional universities around the country.
Additional year granted to Temporary Graduate Visa holders.
International students who want to study at universities in regional Australia under the new scholarship program will be further rewarded with access to an additional year on their Temporary Graduate Visa. For undergraduates, this brings the total length of the visa to three years, for PhD students, this extends their visa to five years.