The Minister has confirmed that student visa holders will be able to work for more than 40 hours a fortnight if they are employed in the tourism and hospitality sector (this is in addition to the current exemptions of work hours for disability, health care and agriculture workers).
As with other student visa holders working in 'critical services', the Department of Home Affairs and the Australian Border Force will:
- exercise their discretion to not cancel the visas of students who work in excess of 40 hours each fortnight
- not refer student visa holders for investigation of any potential offence that might relate to the hours worked by a student visa holder in breach of their visa conditions
- not refer employers or relevant third-party labour-hire companies for investigation of any potential offence that might relate to allowing a student visa holder to work in breach of their visa conditions.
If you're not sure how these changes affect you or your employees, contact us, we are here to help.
