international students covid-19 help

Premier Daniel Andrews’s government in Victoria has set up a $45 million International Students Emergency Relief Fund for helping international students in Victoria. The government will be working with and through Victorian universities and TAFEs who will play a key role in helping the state Government to administer funds to international students.

Applications are now open and international students in Victoria who are facing financial hardship through lost wages and work as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic should apply. The fund is being delivered in partnership with Victoria’s tertiary education providers.

This International Student Emergency Relief Fund complements the range of relief programs offered by the Victorian Government and Victoria’s universities and education providers.

Partnering universities and TAFEs will process applications and distribute funds.

Working together on a co-contribution basis, the government, universities and TAFEs shall build on the significant funding and support programs already in place in our public institutions and offer more customised support.

The state government believes our universities and TAFEs are best placed to assess your welfare need and ensure you have access to their support networks.

If you are enrolled in a public university or TAFE, you can apply through your institution. Information for each university and TAFE is listed below.

Name of institution

Contact

Phone

University

Australian Catholic University (ACU)  Email
Chat
1300 275 228
SMS: 0427 522 268
Central Queensland University (CQU) Email 9616 0555
Charles Sturt University (CSU) Email
Deakin University (Deakin) 9244 6333
Federation University Australia Email 5327 9446
La Trobe University (La Trobe) 9479 1199
Monash University (Monash) Chat
RMIT University  Chat 9925 5005
Southern Cross University (SCU) Email 02 6620 3876
Swinburne University of Technology Email 9214 8444
The University of Melbourne (UniMelb) Chat 13MELB (13 6352)
University of Divinity  Email 9131 4922
Victoria University (VU)  Email 9919 6100

TAFE

Bendigo Kangan Institute Email 9279 2631
Box Hill Institute Email 9286 9445
9286 9891
Chisholm Institute Email 9212 5014
9212 5049
Gordon Institute of TAFE Email 5225 0920
Holmesglen Institute Email 9564 1703
Melbourne Polytechnic Email 9269 1666
Sunraysia Institute of TAFE Email 5022 3733
William Angliss Institute of TAFE Email 9606 2169

If you are studying in a Private College
International students who are studying in colleges run by private providers can also apply. The state government has prepared a list of participating private providers.

Students will need to provide the following documentation (as attachments) in a commonly used file format (i.e. PDF, JPEG, PNG) to support your application:

Attachment 1Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE) form (screenshot or PDF)

Attachments 2 and 3: Valid Student Visa Documentation – You can provide up to two documents that provide information about your visa. These must be uploaded screenshots or PDFs of your visa details from the Department of Home Affairs, Visa Entitlement Verification Online (VEVO) website. One or two documents can be provided, and together they must show the following eight points of information:

  1. A visible Australian Government crest or logo or URL address
  2. Must be clearly date stamped and show that this date stamp was generated within five days of submitting your application(to show your current location is onshore)
  3. Your full name
  4. Your current location (Onshore)
  5. Visa Grant Number
  6. Visa Class/subclass (Student)
  7. Visa Grant Date
  8. Visa Expiry Date – Length of Stay (must be after 30 June 2020)

Attachment 4: Passport (scan)

Attachment 5: Evidence of employment

Attachment 6: Evidence of reduction of hours or loss of employment

For list of eligible private colleges and more information, please click here.

In addition to International Students Emergency Relief Fund, the state government is also offering one-off rent relief grants for people in rental hardship due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis, to help keep renters in safe and stable accommodation and to help with finding work opportunities through Working for Victoria.

There is also COVID-19 health costs waiver program. Victorian hospitals will waive the costs of treatment for overseas travellers, including international students, with symptoms of coronavirus who fall ill in Australia and do not have adequate insurance coverage.

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