The Australian government has introduced the Mobility Arrangement for Talented Early-professionals Scheme (MATES), allowing Indian students pursuing courses in Australian tertiary institutions to work in the country without visa sponsorship for up to eight years. This scheme comes as a result of a bilateral agreement signed between India and Australia last month.
Up to 3,000 spots are available under the MATES program, specifically targeting Indian professionals in seven fields, including engineering, information and communication technology, artificial intelligence, financial technology, renewable energy, and mining.
MATES offers a new mobility pathway for Indian graduates and early career professionals with expertise in these targeted fields to live and work in Australia for up to two years.
Australia has been taking steps to overhaul its immigration system to facilitate the entry of highly skilled workers and streamline the path to permanent residency. The visa process for high-skilled professionals is being made quicker and more straightforward. Additionally, temporary skilled visa holders, who were previously denied the opportunity to apply for permanent residency, will be able to do so by the end of this year, without adding to Australia’s annual intake of permanent migrants.
However, in an effort to balance work and study commitments, work restrictions will be re-introduced for all student visa holders, capped at 48 hours per fortnight. This change is intended to help students stay focused on their education while still being able to support themselves financially. The only exception to this rule applies to individuals working in the aged care sector. Student visa holders already working in aged care as of May 9, 2023, can continue to work unrestricted hours in this sector until December 31, 2023.
During the pandemic, Australia relaxed all student visa work restrictions and completely removed them in January 2022, allowing primary and secondary student visa holders to work beyond the usual limit of 40 hours per fortnight to address workforce shortages.
Overall, these measures aim to attract highly skilled professionals to Australia and provide opportunities for international students, particularly from India, to gain valuable work experience in their fields of expertise.