"I used to introduce myself as an Indian student in Australia, today I am Colombian, Nepalese and Chinese, today I am part of the community of international students ready to take action in the issues that affect us most".
- Amit Vikram Singh, Assistant Community Organiser
International Students for Welcome, Support and Justice
The coronavirus pandemic has revealed the worst of the precariousness and exploitation international students face in Sydney. As the centre of Australia’s international education “market”, Sydney’s universities and private education providers have been expanding their businesses toward international students for over 30 years.
The experience of international students in Sydney is an expression of market values, not civic ones. On the surface, international education is marketed as “educating the world” and “a cross-cultural experience”, but the reality is that many international students are highly isolated, have no opportunities to develop deep relationships with locals by the end of their studies and face systematic injustice in all aspects of their lives in Sydney.
This system makes them more susceptible to exploitation and has created an ‘underclass’ of people who live, work and study in Australia, but don’t have adequate rights and protections.
In 2024, the Sydney Alliance is bringing partners together on issues impacting people on temporary migrants. Contact us if you would like to get involved in the campaign.
Our Story
With the support of the Sydney Community Forum (SCF) and United Workers Union (UWU), international students created a space to organise our own community in April 2020 called the Oz International Student Hub.
Since August 2020, we have created an internship program for international students, through which we have trained more than 50 student community organisers from diverse backgrounds and equipped them with the skills they need to join Sydney’s civil society.
Together with 180 organisations including SCF, UWU, Multicultural Youth Affairs Network (MYAN), Tenants Union, Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees' Association (SDA) and Unions NSW, we have campaigned for emergency relief packages from NSW and federal governments worth $34 million - including $21 million for accommodation support in NSW for international students facing eviction and homelessness.
Through a process of listening, discernment, and research it became clear that the issues weren’t confined to COVID-19 response, in fact, many of the issues had existed for decades and were simply exaggerated by the pandemic. What was needed was a permanent organisation for international student welcome, support and justice in NSW.
This Alliance then went on to support the establishment of Oz International Students Hub, winning critical seed funding from City of Sydney (100k) for the pilot and then $120k for an intake, assessment and referral service from Study NSW. This hub was the first international student hub in NSW lead and organised by international students. The hub was supported and staffed by Sydney Community Forum. We are currently in the process of seeking further government grants to continue this work as funding has now ceased.
If you are an internationla student seeking financial or other emergency support please speak with student support at the university or college you are studying at, or try any of the government services listed here: https://www.education.gov.au/download/4860/health-and-wellbeing-support-international-students-affected-covid-19/7260/document/docx