International students exploited by dodgy migration agents

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By Leith van Onselen

Problems with Australia’s mushrooming trade in international students continues to bubble to the surface, with fresh reports emerging of widespread exploitation by dodgy migration and education agents. From The Australian:

For Nepalese student Manesh, coming to Australia to study nursing was the chance to gain an education and some work experience before he returned home to start his career.

But his treatment at the hands of a Nepal-based education agent has left him disillusioned and in a course that won’t deliver him any practical nursing experience…

Manesh’s problems with his education agent began from the outset, when the agent pushed him to study nursing at a particular college and didn’t give him any other options. The agent also took about $500 from him for administration and only later did Manesh learn that agents are paid commissions by the colleges where they place students…

Despite promises from the education agent, he learned his course was not accredited by the Australian Nursing and Midwifery ­Accreditation Council, meaning he would be unable to gain work experience and help pay for his ­tuition by working in Australia…

“Everyone lied to us. First of all, the education agent lied to us. Then, after that, the college also lied to us. The college said that we will be getting to work in hospitals”…

The national president of the Council of International Students Australia, Bijay Sapkota, said many education agents misled students about their courses and their work rights in Australia.

“They tend to put them into ­institutions where they might get higher commission rates and get them enrolled in courses that they might not be interested in,” he said.

In February, the Joint Parliamentary Inquiry into efficacy of current regulation of Australian migration and education agents released its report, which noted that agents were involved in three quarters of all international student enrolments and documented allegations of unlawful and unethical behaviour by both agents and education providers. In particular, international students were being misled about migration pathways and work rights, as well as being pushed into inappropriate courses that pay higher commissions.

Below are some key findings from this parliamentary report:

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Education agents are involved in almost three-quarters of all international student enrolments…

Individuals from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds engage the services of migration or education agents for a variety of reasons including assistance to complete the more complex visa applications and forms, comprehension of the immigration legislation, and ease of communication through a common language, and helping understand options for studying and living in Australia and any cultural differences.

They are socially, legally and financially vulnerable and are open to exploitation from the actions of unscrupulous, unlawful and unethical registered migration agents, education agents, and individuals providing unregistered immigration advice…

Evidence to this inquiry showed that some individuals were left substantially out of pocket after being exploited by either an unregistered or registered migration agent or education agent…

Education agents are not currently regulated in Australia. There is no legislative requirement placed on education agents to have any technical proficiency through education; English proficiency; continued professional development; or even be an Australian citizen. Literally anyone can become an education agent.

Sadly, the exploitation of international students extends well beyond agents to the workplace. Last month, the Migrant Workers’ Taskforce released its final report, which found that “wage underpayment is widespread and has become more entrenched over time”, particularly among international students:

Underpayment of migrant workers is certainly not a new problem. It has not recently emerged, but instead it has been a feature of some sectors of the Australian labour market for years. For example, in 2008, the Workplace Ombudsman, predecessor to the FWO, commenced a series of audits of 7-Eleven stores, which uncovered serious underpayments. The Workplace Ombudsman noted at that time that many of the underpaid workers were young international students and were particularly vulnerable to exploitation.

…results from the Wage Theft in Australia report conducted in 2016 indicate that… one quarter of international students and one third of working holiday makers (32 per cent) were paid around half the legal minimum wage…

A research article based on a 2015 study of international students in Sydney found that international students tolerate and accept lower than lawful wages not only because the wage rates can be high in comparison to their home countries, but also that lower than lawful wages are normalised and accepted among their international student peers.

As noted in the recent book, The Wage Crisis in Australia, “most international students… see themselves as involved in a project of ‘staggered’ or ‘multi-step’ migration, whereby they hope to leap from their present status into a more long-term visa status, ideally permanent residency”.

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That is, Australia’s education system has become an integral part of the immigration industry – a key pathway for migrants to buy backdoor permanent residency to Australia.

With systemic problems emerging from the explosion of international students, the incoming federal government must engage the Productivity Commission to undertake broad-based inquiry into Australia’s international student industry, including a transparent analysis of the costs and benefits from this program.

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About the author
Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.