Do I Have Enough Time To Work In Australia?

Well I got some queries from students in Pakistan, they were not sure whether they may be able to get time to do some jobs in Australia and can earn money for their living and paying university tuition fee. It may not be the case with Pakistani students, many international students are afraid that they may not have enough time to work in Australia. In this article I will try to cover how you can manage time for doing jobs.

Almost all universities in Australia offer two semesters in one academic year, I am not talking about summer semester that is optional. One semester consist of twelve study weeks. It means that you have got only 84 days of studies in one semester. So, two semesters will have 168 days of studies. You won’t get enough vacations for exam preparation, mostly a week and then exams duration is also around a week or ten days, depending on the number of subjects. Some weeks will be off during semester because of public holidays and mid semester break.

So, it means that you are left with a minimum of 4 months vacations in summer and around 1 month vacations in winter. This duration may vary like you may get 3 and half months summer vacations and 1 and half month winter vacations (also call it semester break). But one thing is for sure that you will get around 4 - 5 months (mostly 5 months) of vacations.

In this duration students are allowed to work legally full time, it means you can work as much as you like. However, students are only allowed to work part time during their semester. In Australia, students are allowed to work a maximum of 20 hours in a week during study period (no changes in working hour in new rules), if some one is working more then it is illegal. Even though, there are strict rules; still many students are working almost double in their study period, which may badly affect their studies.

By reading the above information, it may be clear to you that it’s not impossible to earn money for your living expenses and paying of tuition fee in Australia. The only thing that matter is what kind of job you are doing and how much you are earning per hour. If you are earning a good amount of money per hour in your job then you may be able to send money to your home overseas. I have seen many students doing so and the main point is that you must show patience and keep searching for good jobs; eventually you will find some.

Tips: please search for other articles regarding ‘Working rules in Australia’, ‘Tips to find jobs in Australia’ and so on

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Working in Australia:

A new permission to work arrangement for student visa holders has been introduced in Australia. Students granted student visas on or after 26 April 2008 will receive permission to work with their visa grant. This means that most student visa holders will no longer need to apply separately for permission to work.

Previously most student visa holders paid a total of $490 - $430 for their visa application and $60 in Australia for permission to work. Now student visa holders will pay one charge of $450 for the combined visa application and permission to work.

For more information on the changes read the fact sheet from the Department of Immigration and Citizenship .

International students are restricted to a maximum of 20 hours work per week during semester (so that you have enough time left for studying!) but are able to work unlimited hours during semester breaks. You need to get an Australian tax file number before you start - you can find the application information on the Apply For Tax File Number Online

The benefits of working in Australia:

There are several benefits of part time work in Australia

• Course-related work is an advantage in the graduate labor market
• Casual work provides useful income for students
• Opportunities to practice your English language skills, meet new people and develop useful contacts

Your rights while working in Australia:

Before commencing paid work in Australia you should be aware of your rights and responsibilities as an employee. Here are some things to watch out for after starting work in Australia:

• Make sure you are being paid at or above the minimum rate of pay, as set out by the Fair Pay Commission
• Think carefully about doing unpaid ‘trial work’. You should be paid for all work you undertake (unless you are volunteering or undertaking work experience arranged through your education provider)
• Take time to carefully read through any contract or Australian Workplace Agreement you are asked to sign