The pandemic and international students in the private rental sector

alan Morris, Catherine Hastings, Emma Mitchell, Gaby Ramia

Research output: Contribution to journalArticle

Abstract

Over the last two decades, international students have become a vibrant and key part of Australian community life and major contributors to the economy. However, despite their centrality, in the current period they have been profoundly let-down by the Federal Government. The 565,000 international students that were still in Australia at the time of the lockdown in March have been particularly hard-hit by the pandemic. The Federal Government's refusal to extend monetary benefits to international students means that they are totally reliant on their own resources, and those of their families, patchy support from state and local governments, students' own educational institutions (in some cases) and various charities. This article draws on a large-scale survey we conducted on international students in the private rental sector in Melbourne and Sydney in the latter part of 2019 (the survey closed in early December, so pre Covid-19). The survey elicited just over 7,000 valid responses. We focused on all three post-secondary sectors - universities, English Language Colleges (ELICOS) and Vocational education and Training (VET). It also draws on 11 interviews conducted with international students after the Covid-19 lockdown.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)19-20
Number of pages2
JournalParity
Volume33
Issue number5
Publication statusPublished - 2020

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