Foreign, regional students to be given priority on-campus housing in Australia

October 13th, 2009 MELBOURNE - Foreign students, including Indians rate Australia as the safest place to study, but rank it third for education system prestige. IDP Education, one of Australia's biggest international student recruitment companies, conducted the survey of more than 6000 students from eight countries from September 12 to October 6.

October 4th, 2009 MELBOURNE - Life in this Australian city does not live up to expectations, say overseas female students in a survey that revealed "international students have been seriously affected by the current housing situation in Melbourne". In a report by the Victorian Immigrant and Refugee Women's Coalition that involved interviews with 17 women, all but one respondent said Melbourne was a "tolerant and multicultural place".

September 25th, 2009 NEW DELHI - In a bid to woo students to Australia amid reports of racial attacks down under, Premier of Australian state of Victoria John Brumby Friday said it will give progress report on the probe into attacks and proposed separate housing and transportation for Indian students. Brumby, who is leading a nine-member delegation, met Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi and Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal here Friday morning.

September 25th, 2009 NEW DELHI - John Brumby, the premier of Australian state of Victoria, Friday proposed to give separate transportation and safe housing for Indian students studying in Australia. Union Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi, after a meeting with a nine-member delegation led by Brumby, said: "It is a proposal by the Australian government.

September 17th, 2009 CANBERRA - Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has warned Indian students living in Australia not to take the law into their own hands. The local Indian community has been told to take "some form of retaliation" following the assault of four men outside a bar in Melbourne on the weekend, reports The Age.

August 6th, 2009 SYDNEY - External Affairs minister S.M.Krishna on Thursday conveyed New Delhi's concerns to Australian authorities over the recent attacks on Indian students. Krishna received assurance of a firm action against all perpetrators of attacks on Indian students during his meet with New South Wales (NSW) Premier Nathan Rees.

July 22nd, 2009 PHUKET - Ahead of Indian External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna's visit to Australia Aug 5, Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith Wednesday assured him that his government was doing everything possible to ensure the safety of nearly 100,000 Indian students in that country.

July 22nd, 2009 MELBOURNE - Over 40,000 students who were expected to gain permanent residency in Australia, may now not qualify because of recent policy changes, a demographic researcher has estimated. The Rudd Government has removed most vocational trades, including plumbing, welding and carpentry from its skills priority list, making it harder for international students with those qualifications to gain permanent residency.

June 27th, 2009 MELBOURNE - An international student in Australia, Danny Ong, has written a guide for Indian students as well as for other international students in the country, which will offer essential advice to them regarding house-hunting, public transport, the justice system and the concept of human rights in Australia. The guide titled 'International Student Handbook: Living and Studying in Australia' will be published in August.

June 10th, 2009 MELBOURNE - The Australian Government has said that its migration fraud investigators have discovered scores of illegal foreign students residing in the country using bogus documents to support permanent residency applications. Over 60 students, whose documents were initially accepted as genuine by the Government, will be forced to leave Australia if they are unable to prove their documents are authentic.

June 10th, 2009 CANBERRA - Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has described his country as one of the safest places for students and warned that vigilante action in response to attacks against foreign students, will not be tolerated. "It's unacceptable for anyone to commit an act of violence against any student of any ethnicity anywhere in Australia," Rudd told Fairfax Radio.

June 4th, 2009 CANBERRA - China has joined India in asking Australia to provide improved protection for foreign students after a series of violent racist assaults on Indian students Down Under. "There are over 130,000 Chinese students in Australia.

June 3rd, 2009 WELLINGTON - Indian students based in Australia may opt to go to neighbouring New Zealand if the racially motivated attacks Down Under don't stop. Education New Zealand chief executive Robert Stevens said he had been in touch with the New Zealand Trade and Enterprise office in India yesterday, urging the office to market New Zealand and Australia as "totally different societies".

June 1st, 2009 SYDNEY - Authorities in various Australian universities should arrange housing Indian students in safe areas, at least for the first six months, an expat group formed in the wake of a spate of attacks on Indian students here and in Melbourne said Monday. Yadu Singh, coordinator of the newly formed Community Committee on Indian Students' Issues, also asked the students to have health and emergency insurance.

May 28th, 2009 MELBOURNE - In the wake of the attacks on Indian students in the country, an Australian police officer is to travel to India to brief prospective students on avoiding street violence in Australia, media reports said. Police community liaison officer Senior Constable Victor Robb said that his advice would mainly cover "safety strategy tips", Radio Australia reported Thursday.