Another college collapses due to tougher Australian student visa rules
March 23 2010 by Liam Clifford
A Sydney-based hospitality college has announced it is going into voluntary liquidation as a direct consequence of changes to Australian visas.
The collapse of the Austech Institute for
Further Education means that over 750 fee-paying students have lost their money.
This will especially affect overseas students who were studying in Australia at
the college under the terms of their Australian student visas, although there is
some comfort in the fact federal Education Minister, Julia Gillard, recently
announced an extra $5.1 million to cover fee refunds for overseas students when
colleges collapse.
The collapse of the Austech Institute for Further
Education is the latest in a series of high-profile college closures. Tougher
Australian visa rules combined with the global recession and a strong Australian
dollar have caused international student enrolments to fall. Nevertheless,
overseas immigrants who have secured Australian student visas are increasingly
facing the risk of losing the money they have invested in courses.
Karl
Konrad, the managing director of Australian Immigration Law Services, criticised
the “unmanaged” higher education industry that has taken millions of dollars of
hard earned international student money. ''The question must be asked: where did
all this money go?'' he said.
The Education Services for Overseas
Students Assurance Fund has been under pressure, and more colleges are expected
to collapse as the rules for skilled migration are likely to restrict further
the numbers of international students who apply for Australian visas to study in Australian colleges.
See the latest Immigration News
