Announcing the measure on Wednesday,Prime Minister Scott Morrison pitched the scheme as a “thank you” to students for coming back and “continuing to choose Australia”,and called for backpackers to “come on down”.
“But we also want them to come here and be able to fill some of these critical workforce shortages,particularly those who are working and being trained in healthcare,aged care,those types of sectors,that will be incredibly helpful,” Mr Morrison said.
Mr Morrison’s appeal for students and backpackers to return stands in stark contrast to his messaging during the outbreak of the pandemic whenhe indicated visa-holders should return home if they could not financially support themselves.
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University leaders and education lobby groups have been critical that the federal government had not done more to hasten the return of international students during the pandemic,repeatedly warning that Australia would lose market share in the lucrative sector to competitors such as the UK and Canada,which moved more quickly to allow their return.
Phil Honeywood,chief executive of the International Education Association of Australia,said the beleaguered sector was happy with any incentives it could get after a tough two years,but the combination of later border openings,lack of flights and Omicron hesitancy were hampering enrolments for semester one.
“Questions are also being asked by students as to whether this change of policy is just motivated by the need to backfill Australia’s labour force rather than genuine support for student welfare,” Mr Honeywood said.