Australia is fast becoming Bhutan’s most preferred overseas education destinations. So, the Royal Bhutanese Embassy in Canberra has put together an advisory listing relevant information and web-based resources for prospective Bhutanese students who may consider coming to Australia to pursue higher education. Please note that information may change from time to time, and you will need to contact and verify the latest updates from the relevant statutory bodies before making a final decision.
Please also remember that this advisory contains standard information for international students. So, you may also receive additional information and advice on studying and living in Australia, including with your family, from Bhutanese who are already in Australia and who may be able to share their personal experiences of negotiating actual living conditions in Australia and making the best of the experience.
Students are legally permitted to work a maximum of 24 hours a week while the course is in session (excluding any work undertaken as a registered component of your course of study or training). Spouses and eligible partners of married students will have similar working rights depending upon their individual visa conditions. However, there is no guarantee that you will be able to get a suitable job. Further, working more than the prescribed hours may result in your student visa being cancelled.
The adult national minimum wage in Australia, as of 1 July 2023 is A$ 23.23 per hour, this changes annually; unscrupulous employers are known to pay much less under exploitative conditions. There are also cases where students, especially those enrolled in courses like hospitality or hairdressing, are working without being paid under the pretext of accumulating ‘work experience’.
In case you have any work related complaint against your employer, please approach Fair Work Ombudsman with relevant details. For more information regarding your work place rights, visit: (www.fairwork.gov.au)
There is also an acute shortage of suitable accommodation as also other shortcomings in the social support network for international students in many of the large cities in Australia and especially in Melbourne. Thus, after arriving here, many students find that they cannot make ends meet and that they have to stay in very low rent areas which often are also high crime areas with very poor facilities. They share their space with others to try and save on rentals; this often leads to over-crowding and often unhygienic and depressing living conditions. These areas are also far away from the institutions where they are enrolled.
Owing to all these factors, it is essential that students wishing to come to Australia do as much research as possible to try and ensure a wise choice of institution as also to try and understand as clearly as possible the kind of life that awaits them here, so that they enjoy a positive experience of studying and living in Australia, as indeed most Indian students do.
