Supported by the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada’s 2023-2024 Media Fellowship, Robert Williams travelled to Australia in August 2024 to document the country’s failed rollout of a proposed international student cap, and the harsh realities for students living in Sydney, one of the most expensive cities in the world. Robert’s three-part series was published in the Waterloo Region Record and across the Metroland Media chain in December 2024.
The series focuses predominantly on the Australian university sector during a period of tense political uncertainty, focusing on the stakeholders who rallied against a proposed student cap, and the students forced to live through a debate about their role in Australian society.
Part One: Canadians tell Australia: ‘Don’t do what we did’ on international student cap
With a population of 27 million, international education is Australia’s fourth largest industry, contributing more than $50 billion annually to its exports, and is also a major driver of the tourism sector via families visiting students. In early 2024, the government estimated there were about 717,500 international students in Australia. With rapid growth came new-found concern about education quality, housing shortages, migration levels, unethical education providers, and a need to redirect students away from Sydney and Melbourne to other regional areas. The proposed cap was eventually defeated, but the debate around international students and their role in Australian society continues.
Part Two: When student housing goes wrong, Australia’s experience
Sydney is one of the most expensive cities in the world for housing, and a limited rental supply means international students are regularly forced to cram into rooms and pay rent to landlords they’ve never met, without a signed agreement. In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, the return of international students became an easy target to blame for price increases, despite only making up between four and six per cent of the rental market. With few options through official rental channels, international students are routinely putting themselves in unsafe situations, with few supports for when things go wrong.
Part Three: Debt bondage, sexual servitude and other stories you don’t hear about international students
Within any given year, about 40 per cent of international students in Australia will have a legal problem, compared to about 34 per cent for domestic students. Debt bondage, sexual servitude, nonpayment of wages, or underpayment of wages are among the harsh realities for life in Australia for many international students, a situation that exists for many who choose to travel to Canada to study as well. It is happening to thousands of students, and it happens every day.
