English Australia welcomes NSW transport concessions for international students

30 October 2012

The NSW Government has announced public transport fare discounts of up to 35% for international students. These discounts will be for unlimited travel on buses, trains, light rail and ferries in Greater Sydney, the Hunter and the Illawarra.  These discounts apply to all student visa holders, including ELICOS students.
 
The new concessions are a direct response to a recommendation from the NSW Government’s International Education and Research Taskforce, of which English Australia’s Executive Director Sue Blundell was a member.
 
The concessions announced yesterday aim to ‘increase the attraction of NSW as an ideal location for further education and provide better access to safe and affordable public transport options for overseas students’ according to NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell. Click here to access details in the media release.
 
The Taskforce yesterday released its report which made 21 specific recommendations for government and industry to help position NSW as a global leader in international education by 2012. Click here to view the Taskforce Report.
 
The report outlines a range of measures Government and Industry can take to position NSW as a significant global player and Australia’s leading State for international education and research.  The report calls for the NSW Government to ramp up its efforts to lobby for Federal level improvements to the quality of teaching, courses and research.  The quality of the total student experience is also identified as a key target for improvement, with Government asked to consider issues including affordable accommodation and transport, access to part time employment, industry placements while studying, and employment on completion of study.  The Taskforce also recommends creation of a new agency to provide a one-stop-shop for information for international students and to drive implementation of a range of other recommendations on issues including quality, migration, post study work rights and levels of research funding.
 
A full government response to these recommendations, along with details of the travel concessions, will be released shortly.
 
English Australia congratulates all who worked to achieve this very positive outcome for international students in NSW – including ELICOS students.