“Australia needs more skilled workers to ease the current pressures weighing on our labour market and the economy,” Universities Australia Chief Executive Catriona Jackson said.
 
“Making it easier for more of the talented international graduates our universities educate to use their Australian education in Australia’s cities and regions makes complete sense.
 
“Hundreds of thousands of international students come to our world-class universities each year, yet very few remain here – just 16 per cent. We are worse off for that, economically and socially.
 
“International students make such rich social and diplomatic contributions to our nation and prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, they generated $40.3 billion in economic activity.
 
“The current skills crisis highlights the urgent need to retain more of these students, when and where there is a clear need for their skills, to complement our homegrown workforce and spur productivity and economic growth.
 
“Universities Australia has advocated strongly for this change, and we congratulate the Albanese Government for its strong leadership and solutions-driven approach to meeting our workforce needs.
 
“The decision to extend working rights for PhD students, in particular, will provide a significant boost to the development of Australia’s knowledge economy.”