With the onset of the year 2018, there are various changes in the education system of the country that have been proposed by the parliament. Some of these will give more benefits to the applicant while some may make it harder for you to get benefits. These changes have been proposed in order to improve the education level in general of the country to make the graduates more job-ready than before.
The first and most important change that has been proposed is the change in the funding model of the schools. Students who come to Australia in search of schooling need to pay attention to this one. The schools in the country will shift to the Gonski 2.0 funding model, with a six-year transition for under-funded schools and a 10-year transition for over-funded schools. As per latest data changes are expected in the previous policies followed.
For the next two years, the Commonwealth funding for universities has been frozen at the 2017 levels. Earlier there was no restriction on student payments for VET but now the student payments for vocational education and training (VET) will be restricted to courses that support the industry needs. For payment eligibility, the courses have to meet the industry standards and address the desired skills by employers. The courses must also align with the employment pattern in the current relevant time frame.
In order to safeguard the interest of various international students in Australia, a new code is all set to be launched that will be imposed on the education and training providers of the country to ensure top class teaching and training methods.
Earlier students who relocated to Australia for training and education were provided relocation scholarships. This practice is being proposed to be stopped in the year of 2018. This change will affect the monetary power of the possible students and can lead to reduced inflow of migrants coming for education in transfer cases from overseas.
There has also been reduction done in the period for which regional and remote students must earn the amount required to meet the self-supporting independence criteria for youth or ABSTUDY living allowance. The said period has been reduced from 18 months to 14 months now.
These proposed and implemented changes will affect the inflow of students in Australia this year as some monetary benefits have been reduced. But the government is focusing on providing better healthcare schemes to international students, increasing welfare allowances etc…
