The Australian government has endorsed Victoria’s international student arrival plan, which the state submitted to the federal government in October.
The plan will allow 120 international students to return per week, with institutions covering $5,000 hotel quarantine costs and students paying for flights during the first phase.
Under the first stage, university students who urgently need to return to Victoria to do practical work, including health and medical students, and postgraduate research students, will be prioritised.
The second stage – expected to start in early 2022 – will include students at TAFEs, English-language colleges, private education providers, secondary schools and other universities.
Future costs and quarantine arrangements will be reviewed as Victoria “progresses through the to Delivering the National Plan”, the government added.
The number of students permitted to travel under this second cohort will depend on the state’s public health situation, the country’s international borders and progress in relation to the national plan to transition Australia’s Covid-19 , authorities noted.
Institutions are contacting international students who have been selected for the process.
Returning students “strongly encouraged” to get vaccinated before they arrive in Victoria, with TGA recognising both Sinovac and Covishield.
Students will quarantine in dedicated accommodation which is in addition to the state’s existing quarantine places, reserved for returning Australians.
The first students are expected to arrive in Victoria before the end of the year.
