International students enrolled in medical courses will be able to work more hours than usual during the coronavirus pandemic.
The federal government is relaxing the 40-hour per fortnight work limit in an attempt to boost the number of health and disability workers, having done the same for nursing students last month.
Acting Immigration Minister Alan Tudge said it made sense for the 8000 international students already working as aged and disability carers to do more hours.
“We are ensuring state and territory health services have the people they need to continue testing for and treating coronavirus cases so we can stay on top of this crisis,” Mr Tudge said.
Acting Federal Minister for Immigration Alan Tudge has thanked multicultural communities for their support during the coronavirus pandemic. Source: AAP
“We’re also ensuring we have enough workers to support those with disability, as many in the current workforce are required to quarantine or take time out to care for their own families.”
The federal government said the measures are temporary and will be reviewed regularly as Australia responds to the coronavirus pandemic.
The nation's coronavirus death toll has reached 74 but the rate of new infections continues to drop, which has prompted restrictions on elective surgeries to be eased.
More than two-thirds of the 6600 people who have been infected in Australia have fully recovered.
Minister for Health Greg Hunt said the changes for international students would help ensure Australia has the health workforce available to keep combating the virus.
“Australia is leading the world in our health response, but we need to keep testing and ensure our health system is prepared for potential future outbreaks like we have seen in other countries,” Mr Hunt said.
“Particularly as we begin to restart elective surgeries, states and territories will need as many health workers on standby as possible.”
Peak-body National Disability Services has raised concerns over a lack of disability support workers, access to PPE and the funding of services amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Health Minister Greg Hunt on Saturday played down his colleague's earlier attack on Victorian Premier Dan Andrews. Source: AAP
Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme Stuart Robert said the additional hours for students in the disability sector would bolster existing measures already enacted.
“The plan supports the extensive measures all governments have enacted to support the safety of Australians with disability, NDIS participants and providers, reducing their exposure to the virus and maintaining essential supports,” he said.
He said the Australian Government has injected over $1 billion into supporting Australians with disability at this time and taken further steps to support NDIS service providers.
NSW had already announced university students would be used to strengthen the state's health workforce amid fears the system could be overrun with an influx of coronavirus cases.
The initiative followed a similar scheme which was introduced in Victoria last month.
International students have also raised concerns about facing financial hardship without access to coronavirus response measures, including welfare support and wage subsidy programs.
The federal government has extended access to superannuation for international students who have been in Australia for longer than 12 months to increase their access to additional funds.
With AAP
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