(Cth) Exclude Unpaid Work-Integrated Learning from International Students’ Work-Hour Limits

Ayushi Nanda, Megan Yap, Lucy Leutchford, Keona Rangwala, Janielle Osei-Agyei, Holy Ibrahim, Alexandria Mills & Nya Sharma
Aug 5
7 min read

Updated: Aug 7

Author: Ayushi Nanda, Megan Yap, Lucy Leutchford, Keona Rangwala, Janielle Osei-Agyei, Holy Ibrahim, Alexandria Mills & Nya Sharma | Publish date: 5/8/2026

P: In Australia, migration regulations count both paid and unpaid employment towards the fortnightly work-hour limit for international students.
S: The Minister for Home Affairs should amend Condition 8105 of the Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth) to specify that the fortnightly work-hour limit for international students applies only to paid employment and excludes unpaid work-integrated learning (WIL).
E: Universities Australia (2022): ‘The fortnightly work hours limit should only include paid work, so that unpaid WIL experiences are exempt, irrespective of whether they are CRICOS-registered experiences or not.’

Problem Identification:

Condition 8105 of Schedule 8 of the Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth) states that student ‘[visa] holders must not engage in work in Australia for more than [48] hours a fortnight’ during the university semester. However, this does not apply where the work is ‘a requirement of the course’ as listed in the Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students (CRICOS) or part of a ‘masters degree by research or doctoral degree’.

According to Universities Australia, this means that ‘if a student undertakes an industry placement or internship activity on an elective basis, the time engaged in this activity counts towards a student’s working hours limit.’ Work-Integrated Learning Australia (WIL Australia) (formerly known as the Australian Collaboration Education Network) noted that international students may miss out on ‘highly valued’ WIL and the ‘professional skills’ that these placements provide.

Context:

WIL refers to programs that aim to ‘combine academic learning from a field of study with the practice of work through a specific program.’ For example, ‘clinical placements, internships, practicums and fieldwork.’

Online Education Services, an Australian education provider, highlighted that ‘if an international student participates in a voluntary WIL placement … regardless of whether the work is paid or unpaid, condition 8105 of the Regulation counts this as part of the student's … work limit.’

According to the Department of Education, as of May 2026, there were over 680,000 international students studying in Australia.

Arguments:

The 2023 Review of the Migration System (RMS) stated that ‘international students are forced to choose between undertaking paid work or taking advantage of opportunities that could enable better success in their field of study.’ WIL Australia highlighted that this has ‘a significant impact on international student take-up of elective work placements across all universities.’ Jobs and Skills Australia found that ‘students … who are not required to undertake work placements as part of their course, graduate without any relevant experience or connections with employers.’ They elaborated that this may also lead to employment at skill levels well below their qualifications, and that ‘international graduates consistently earned less than domestic graduates’. The 2024 Graduate Outcomes Survey found that 29% of international undergraduate students were underemployed in 2024, nearly double the 17.7% rate for domestic graduates.

Advice/Solution Identification:

Universities Australia has called for a fortnightly work hours limit to ‘only include paid work, so that unpaid WIL experiences are exempt, irrespective of whether they are CRICOS-registered experiences or not.’ WIL Australia stated that this could ‘empower individual students to achieve their career goals [whilst] their enhanced employability outcomes will attract prospective students.’

Precedent:

There is international precedent for excluding programs that combine academic learning with practical work experience from international students' work hour limits. In France, university-endorsed internships, whether mandatory or elective, are excluded from the annual work-hour limit within student visa requirements.

Public Support:

This list reflects publicly stated positions and should not necessarily be taken as endorsement of this specific brief.

Broad Support:

Grattan Institute - They have called for ‘replac[ing] the fortnightly cap on international students’ working hours with an annual cap’ and increasing the cap to ‘30 hours per week.’ However, they have not called for unpaid WIL to be excluded from the working hour cap.

News Coverage:

The Conversation - “What does the new Commonwealth Prac Payment mean for students? Will it do enough to end ‘placement poverty’?” This article outlined the impact of unpaid work placements on the financial situation of international students. By: Deanna Grant-Smith and Paula MacDonald | 6 May 2024 - Read the article here.
ABC News - “New changes to working conditions for international students will limit hours”. ABC conversed with an international student on the impact of reinstating the working hour cap By: ABC News | 2 June 2023 - Read the article here.
Professionals in International Education (PIE) News - “Remove study placements from Australia’s work hour cap, say universities”. This article discussed the perspective of educational providers on including work experience as part of the working hour limit. By: Helen Packer | 26 January 2023 - Read the article here.
Times Higher Education - “Quota rule stymies overseas students’ work experience”. This article discussed how work experience is eroding the international students’ paid work opportunities. By: John Ross | 4 October 2019 - Read the article here.

Where to go to learn more:

(2022) Submission to the Review of Australia’s Migration System | Universities Australia - This report acknowledged the value of work-integrated learning for gaining work experience, further highlighting how the fortnightly cap constrains opportunities for professional development. They have called for a fortnightly work hours limit to ‘only include paid work, so that unpaid WIL experiences are exempt, irrespective of whether they are CRICOS-registered experiences or not’. Read the full report here.
(2023) Review of the Migration System Final Report | Department of Home Affairs - This report highlighted how international students are often forced to choose between undertaking paid work and any form of work experience learning, which also sometimes leads them to face exploitation. Read the full report here.
(2023) Graduates in limbo | Grattan Institute - This report highlighted how restrictive visa conditions limit the opportunity for international students to gain valuable work experience that is not formally required as part of their studies. Read the full report here.
(2025) 2024 Graduate Outcomes Survey | Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching - This research identified differences in international and domestic student graduate outcomes. Read the full report here.
(2024) ‘THIS UNPAID PLACEMENT MAKES YOU POOR’: Australian social work students’ experiences of the financial burden of field education - This report discussed how international students face financial burdens and often give up or significantly reduce paid employment to undertake a placement. Read the full report here.
Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth) - Read the full Regulation here.

Human Perspective:

Sarah is an international student who arrived in Australia a few months ago to pursue a degree in marketing. To support herself, she worked five four-hour shifts a week at a restaurant, totalling around 20 hours. Things became complicated when she secured a two-day-a-week marketing internship to gain experience in her field. She was excited to gain some professional working experience and develop new skills. However, because the internship was not a mandatory part of her course, the hours counted towards the 48-hour fortnightly work limit. This brought her total to around 30 hours a week when combined with her part-time job, which exceeded the permitted limit. There was no legal way to balance both her part-time job and the internship because of the strict cap on working hours, including unpaid WIL. Subsequently, Sarah had to choose between supporting herself financially and gaining valuable work experience. As a result, Sarah had to forfeit her internship position, which she had worked hard to obtain and was excited to pursue as it aligned well with her passion for marketing. This left her feeling disappointed about missing out on the internship experience and losing an opportunity to enhance her professional skills, connections, and knowledge. She began to feel anxious about her work-readiness and future prospects due to her lack of professional experience in Australia.

To protect the anonymity of those involved, this is a fictionalised account drawn from an amalgamation of real-life stories, experiences and testimonials gathered during the research process for this brief. Any resemblance to actual individuals is purely coincidental.

Conflict of interest/acknowledgment statement:

N/A.

Support

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Disclaimers

Please review all FORE disclaimers here.

Reference list:

ABC News. (2023, June 2). New changes to working conditions for international students will limit hours [Video]. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-06-02/changes-to-working-conditions-for-international-students-hours/102425550

Coates, B., Wiltshire, T., & Reysenbach, T. (2023). Graduates in limbo: International student visa pathways after graduation. Grattan Institute. https://grattan.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Graduates-in-limbo-Grattan-Institute-Report.pdf

Department of Education. (n.d.). The Australian Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students (CRICOS). Australian Government. Accessed 16 July 2026. https://cricos.education.gov.au/

Department of Home Affairs. (2023). Review of the migration system. Australian Government. https://oia.pmc.gov.au/sites/default/files/posts/2024/01/Review%20of%20the%20Migration%20System%20Final%20Report%202023.pdf

Grant-Smith, D., & McDonald, P. (2024, May 6). What does the new Commonwealth Prac Payment mean for students? Will it do enough to end ‘placement poverty’? The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/what-does-the-new-commonwealth-prac-payment-mean-for-students-will-it-do-enough-to-end-placement-poverty-229280

International Education Association of Australia (IEAA). (2021). Submission response to Australian Strategy for International Education. https://www.education.gov.au/system/files/documents/submission-file/2021-06/International%20Education%20Association%20of%20Australia%20%28IEAA%29.pdf

Jackson, D. (2021). Response to the Consultation Paper on the new Australian Strategy for International Education. Australian Collaborative Education Network (ACEN) (Now WIL Australia). https://www.education.gov.au/system/files/documents/submission-file/2021-05/Australian%20Collaborative%20Education%20Network.pdf

Jobs and Skills Australia. (2025). International students outcomes and pathways study. Australian Government. https://www.jobsandskills.gov.au/sites/default/files/2025-09/international_students_pathways_and_outcomes_study_report.pdf

Meridiane. (2026, March 12). Student internships in France: Visa rules & agreement. https://meridiane.fr/en/blog/visa-stage-etudiant-convention

Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth).

https://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_reg/mr1994227/sch8.html#:~:text=8105,48%20%C2%A0%20hours%2E

Morley, C., Hodge, L., Clarke, J., McIntyre, H., Mays, J., Briese, J., & Kostecki, T. (2023). “This unpaid placement makes you poor”: Australian social work students’ experiences of the financial burden of field education. Social Work Education, 43(4), 1039–1057. https://doi.org/10.1080/02615479.2022.2161507

Online Education Services. (2022). Inquiry into Australia’s tourism and international education sectors (Submission No. 70). Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade. https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.aph.gov.au/DocumentStore.ashx?id%3Da16acc07-7db7-47ee-ab2a-5327a722d7eb%26subId%3D730940&sa=D&source=docs&ust=1783645543699907&usg=AOvVaw04yN7hpM5ZxtzfsXf-8eyQ

Packer, H. (2023, January 26). Remove study placements from Australia’s work hour cap, say universities. The PIE News. https://thepienews.com/australia-work-hour-cap-universities/

Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching. (2025). 2024 Graduate outcomes survey. https://www.qilt.edu.au/docs/default-source/default-document-library/2024-gos-international-report.pdf?sfvrsn=168c5da_1

Ross, J. (2019, October 24). Quota rule stymies overseas students' work experience. Times Higher Education. https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/quota-rule-stymies-overseas-students-work-experience

Universities Australia. (2022). Submission to the review of Australia’s migration system. https://universitiesaustralia.edu.au/submission/submission-to-the-review-of-australias-migration-system/

University of Melbourne. (2022). Submission to the Parliamentary Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade inquiry into Australia’s tourism and international education sectors. https://about.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0021/374340/UoM-Submission-Parliamentary-Inquiry-International-Education-Final-Dec-2022.pdf