Rashna Bajracharya was one of tens of thousands of international students in Australia who lost the part-time jobs they relied on to pay for food and rent when Covid struck in March.

“I reached out to family back in Nepal for help but the banking system there was closed due to the pandemic so they couldn’t send me money. I ended up relying on charity,” said the 29-year-old student, who is now a volunteer at a food bank run by Uniting Church in Sydney.  

In contrast to governments in the UK, New Zealand and Canada, Canberra did not extend its Covid-19 wage subsidy scheme to foreign students — a decision that has caused a crisis for some of the 500,000 student visa holders who contribute A$9bn ($6.7bn) a year in fees to Australian universities.