There appears to be a running narrative that international students are the cause of the rental crisis in Australia. It is not enough that they are now being blamed for manipulating the Australian student visa system, but they are also now the cause of the rental crisis.
This is very untrue, considering a large majority of international students coming to Australia (and it needs to be noted that the majority of international students are from Asia ) are not the ultra rich and spoilt young adults, stereotype dictate them to be, but most come with hopes and dreams and their entire family savings back home. They live in share houses with other international students, and they do the jobs that Aussies do not want – food delivery services in the ‘gig economy’, waiters and dishwashers in small takeaway restaurants, cleaners and convenient store workers etc.
These jobs are not high paying jobs and they do this in addition to the studies to fulfill the hopes and dreams of their families back home. During the pandemic, homelessness hit many international students and like all other Aussies, they suffered and in many ways worse as there was no government support for them.
In addition, Asian international students were also victims of racism during the pandemic and continue to face racism and when articles such as Immigration is smashing renters. It’s time to hike fees for international students are written (The Age), this discrimination continues to festers. Of course like any human there will be the handful who misuse the student visa system, but all in all it is the dodgy educational providers who need to be blamed more for this than the students – and these dodgy businesses are owned by Aussies or any cultural background and creed.
To ease the housing and rental crisis is all about government policies that can ease the pressure on inflation and interest rates but to also look at providing more affordable housing options for anyone who lives in Australia – not just Aussie citizens. There are many models which are used in other parts of the world which can be looked at and modeled on.
One must remember being an international student is not an easy experience – many come without any family or support networks. They are invisible in Australian society as they pick up jobs no one wants, and they are not subject to any government concessions etc. Of course like anyone else, there is a number of international students who come from wealth, but realistically this is not the lived experience for most.
FYI – this is an opinion of mine, so I definitely look forward to hearing your thoughts on this issue.