When Albertina Gwenhure left Zimbabwe to study in Australia, she dreamed of the opportunities that would change her family's fortunes.
"Life in Zimbabwe was very hard," she says. "But my parents sacrificed to sell most of the assets they owned so they could send me here to study in the hope that after I finish my studies I will get residency."
But two years later, those dreams are in tatters after a Federal Government decision in February to change immigration laws left Albertina, and hundreds of other students like her, out in the cold.
Albertina's community welfare diploma course has been dropped from the Federal Government's list of priority courses. This means her application for permanent residency will be relegated below graduates from a new list of approved courses.
In effect, the rule change means she has little hope of staying in Australia when she graduates.
"It was not easy for all of us to make this decision - but that was the only chance that we had in breaking down the circle of poverty and better our lives," she says. "My biggest worry now is that the qualification that I gained here might not be useful when I go back to my country."
Albertina is one of scores of young people whose skills will now not be available to Australia, nor their own country, and who face uncertain futures because of this rule change.
Tarun Kalra from Delhi, who lives in Carnegie, is also about to finish his community welfare diploma and miss the Government's cut-off date. He needs the community welfare regulatory body to approve his qualifications before he applies for permanent residency. This can take up to six weeks, which means he'll be too late - by only a few days.
"This is very distressing and upsetting," he says. "And there are four or five in my class who face the same situation."
Albertina and Tarun are the kind of students who should have the chance to stay in Australia. They have demonstrated genuine interest in building careers in their chosen fields and contributing to society.
The philosophy behind the Government's changes, announced in February by Immigration Minister Chris Evans, is to ensure approved courses are relevant to skills needs in the community. And it's clear a shake-up was needed; there are so many students who studied cookery or hairdressing, applied for permanent residency and are now working in call centres or driving taxis.
But the plight of Albertina, Tarun and many others indicates the need for transition pathway for students who followed the rules and now, through no fault of their own, face uncertain futures.
