Australia: 457 visa holders to be charged for children's schooling

The Western Australian territorial government has announced that it is to charge 457 visa holders a fee of AUS$4,000 per year for every child educated in government-funded schools. The government hopes to raise $120m over four years by introducing the charge.

The Western Australian state government treasurer, Troy Buswell, said that the fee was necessary because the numbers of such children has risen sharply through Australia Study Visa. Mr Buswell said that there were 290 children of 457 visa workers in publicly funded schools in 2005. By 2013, this figure had risen to 8,600; a 29-fold increase.

He said 'the simple growth in numbers has put massive pressure on the education system and by extension, massive pressure on the balance of the taxpayers of Western Australia'.


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