Australian universities to introduce tougher screening measures on international students

Australian universities are implementing tougher screening measures on international students following recent allegations of fraud among student visa applications.

Students who appear academically mediocre may also suffer as a result, as institutions are likely to turn them down due to the fact that they are now expected to take responsibility for the students they admit, which will be reflected in their ratings, reported The Hindu.

Nisidhar Borra, director of a foreign education consultancy firm based in India, told the paper: “Institutes will be forced to do tougher screening and mediocre students are likely to be automatically weeded out due to the new norms of the Department of Immigration and Border Protection.”

He added that “if institutes make a mistake, their rating will be at risk and they will be nailed”.

Under the new regulations, any students found submitting fake information such as documents, work experience, and financial claims will be banned from applying for a visa in Australia for a three-year period.

When applying for a student visa to study in Australia, students will have to take note of the assessment for the higher education institution they have been admitted to.

Assessment levels are assigned based on the immigration risk posed by students from that country.  

Level 1 signifies the lowest immigration risk and Assessment Level 5 the maximum. The greater the Assessment Level, the more the evidence an applicant is required to submit in support of their visa application.

Some 80 institutions, including top universities such as Monash University, University of Melbourne, University of Sydney, RMIT and Bond University are categorized as Level 1. Students who have gained admission into these institutions will not be required to provide extensive proof such as financial details.

However, according to The Hindu, this poses a challenge for students from India, as a large number of them are applying to universities listed under Assessment Level 2, with some placed under Level 3.

Stricter visa requirements may hinder their chances of having their visa approved.

Those unsure of their Assessment Level can check at the Department of Immigration and Border Protection’s official website, which has a Visa Finder tool to help figure it out.

According to Borra, the document requirements for each student will differ based on their education providers’ assessment level and their home country.

Image via Shutterstock.

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