Like any other country, Australia also permits international students to work while pursuing a full-time governmentally recognized course. However, there are some rules and regulations to be followed.
- You are permitted to work 20 hours a week during college/class days.
- During holidays or vacations, when the classes are officially off, you can work upto 40 hours a week.
- You are permitted to enter Australia 90 days before your course begins. However, you are permitted to start working only after your course begins.
- If a family member or spouse is accompanying you, they can work upto 20 hours a week after the beginning of your course. Not more than 20 hours at any time.
- Apply for an Australian student visa only after you have received an official acceptance letter (duh).
- You have to fulfill the requirements of the program you’re registered in consistently.
- You must maintain regular attendance, as required by the program.
- You are required to maintain Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC).
Please keep in mind that violating any of these or any other regulations specified by the Australian Government will result in revoking of your students visa. You don’t want that!!
Suggested: Part-Time Student Job in Australia
Some general FAQs are answered below:
Where can you find work in Australia?
- Retail: Any kind of departmental store that sells goods to customers, from clothing to electronics to footwear.
- Hospitality: Employers include movie cinema, theatre halls, restaurants, bars, takeaway, and other entertainment venues.
- Services: Supermarkets, gas stations, call-centres, back-office or any office that needs administrative work.
- Agricultural: Farming, gardening, fruit picking, transporting, etc.
- Industry: Lucky ones also get work according to their field of study.
- Tutoring: You can teach a skill or work with a professor on campus.
- Volunteering: If money is not your primary concern, or if you want to do some good work in your free time, there are many NGOs in Australia. It is also a great way to meet people in Australia. There is a dedicated website to search for the same.
- Freelancing Online-: If you have a specific skill such as knowledge of Microsoft Excel, photography or programming, you can work from home anywhere. This can be a little risky though.
Do you need to register to find work in Australia?
You need to get a TFN- Tax File Number to begin work. For freelancers, they also need an ABN- Australian Business Number. It is better to limit yourself to 40 hours of work, instead of going illegal and getting your visa revoked. Before you begin working, you have to keep in mind that no job is small or big. However small the job is, it takes hard work to do it and you are not alone doing hard work. You have to be persistently going at it.
How to apply for jobs in Australia?
You can find them through newspapers and online websites (Gumtree, CareerOne, MyCareer, etc). Also, some jobs appear on campus notice-boards. If you are seeking work in the industry that is taking applications, you can mail them your resume. For other jobs, you go to the place, see if they have walk-ins and give an interview. If not, you can respectfully leave your resume, so that they can inform you when they have a vacancy.
You must know your rights...
As an employee, you have the rights to be paid at least the minimum wage. The minimum wage is $15.96 before tax. Your employer needs to make sure that your job doesn’t make you sick or put your life on risk. This law is called Work Health and Safety. They also need to have an insurance to pay for you if you are hurt at work. They are also supposed to provide you the wages until you recover again. This is called Worker’s Compensation. These rights are for everyone, even the ones with a temporary visa.
