When Gary Fanlo and his wife Monic first arrived in Australia from the Philippines, they were anxious about finding work as new migrants.

Mr Fanlo remembers the small notebook they used to closely monitor the hours they worked after their move in 2019, making sure they never exceeded the federal government’s restriction of 40 hours a fortnight for overseas students.

At the time, his wife was studying aged care and Mr Fanlo was in Australia on a dependent visa linked to hers.

“We felt very anxious every time like, oh, we need to watch out because we might go over,” he said.

In January 2022, the federal government relaxed those restrictions to address workforce shortages, allowing overseas students to work over the limit.

But now as the federal government moves to bring back the cap next month, Mr Fanlo finds the thought of returning to the days when they kept a watchful eye on that notebook “traumatic”.

“It brings back those times that we need to really think about what’s going to be our food next week,” he said.

“The economy has changed … rental has gone higher, petrol has gone higher, groceries have gone higher.”

Some students in financial stress, just ‘surviving’

International student advocates believe bringing back the cap will lead to more distress for a group already under pressure.

Asha Ramzan serves as executive officer at social justice charity Sydney Community Forum, which advocates for the international student community.

She said the cap made international students vulnerable to exploitation in the workplace.

“Their employer would tell them, I’m only going to pay you $10 or $12 an hour, because I’m paying you cash in hand, because you are breaking the law,” she said.

Ms Ramzan said the restrictions on working hours was an issue before the pandemic, but many international students felt they had no right to dispute it.

“I know that students don’t feel safe to actually challenge government decisions here,” she said.

She said many international students were contending with overseas loan payments and didn’t have time to protest the restrictions.

“Students are just flat out working and surviving. So, if you’re looking at their life, they have very little opportunity to organise [a protest],” Ms Ramzan said.

“So many students are in financial stress, their mental health is really not well.”

Ms Ramzan said it was unfair to allow domestic students to juggle work and full-time study and have different expectations of international students.

Aged care workers given some leeway

The federal government announced that from July 1 this year, work restrictions for student visa holders would be reintroduced and capped at an increased rate of 48 hours per fortnight.

The government’s decision will apply to all student visa holders except those working in aged care, who will fall under the new cap from next year.

A government spokesperson said the additional six months would allow the sector to “transition to new arrangements and implement more durable solutions … to improve attraction and recruitment to the sector”.

“Student visa holders currently form an important part of the aged care workforce,” they said.

“Significant growth of the aged care workforce is needed to meet the demands of the Australian population.”

Paying medical bills amid closed borders ‘really tough’

When the pandemic hit in 2020, Mr Fanlo and his pregnant wife were planning to return to the Philippines to deliver their daughter.

But they were turned away at the airport after the borders had closed.

Mr Fanlo said having to return home that day knowing they could not cover their medical bills in Australia was devastating.

“Having a baby during COVID time, and then limited hours, that was really tough,” he said.

He said he put himself at risk, even taking shifts with COVID-positive patients, just to make ends meet.

“It was very risky for our part, but then I need to do it for my family,” Mr Fanlo said.

International students vulnerable to underpayment

A recent report from the Grattan Institute found that one in six migrants in Australia were paid less than the national minimum wage.

Grattan Institute economist Brendan Coates said international students fell under that category and were more likely to be underpaid because, often, they were younger.

“They’re vulnerable to underpayment because of the fortnightly cap on their hours,” he said.

“If they breached it in any one fortnightly period, the concern is the employer will dob them into Home Affairs, and they’ll lose their visa, which is potentially catastrophic.”

But Mr Coates said a cap was necessary to maintain the integrity of the visa system and without one, the student visa could become a “de facto low-skill work visa”.

He said the government should commission an independent review on international students in higher education looking at alternatives to the fortnightly cap.

Mr Coates suggested moving from a fortnightly cap to an annual cap, which would provide students with “much more flexibility”.

Migrants ‘made use of’ during pandemic now ‘invisible’

Last month, the Support Network for International Students (SNIS) organised a petition signing outside the State Library of Victoria, urging passers-by to support them in asking the government to get rid of the cap.

Coordinator Ness Gavanzo said SNIS had drafted an open letter addressed to Minister for Immigration Andrew Giles and Minister for Home Affairs Clare O’Neil, asking the government to reconsider its decision.

Ms Gavanzo said SNIS had the support of more than 50 organisations including the United Workers Union and upwards of 1,300 signatures from the public.

“They were able to prove that they could maintain their studies at the same time [as] working beyond 40 hours a fortnight.”

Both Mr Fanlo and his wife are now working in aged care. But they remain under student visa restrictions, while he completes his nursing studies.

As aged care workers, they have six months of breathing room under more relaxed work restrictions. But the relief is short-lived.

They are worried they will have to start tightening their already-strained budget once again.

“I just wish that the government would be fair and equal, we are also people that have basic needs,” he said.

“Hopefully there will be big changes coming … for the better not for the [worse].”