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09 July, 2019
“Int’l students are being cheated in Australia”
By SJA Jafri + Sydney Morning Herald
(Courtesy Messenger)
SYDNEY: International Students and migrants especially Indian and Pakistani are being cheated in Australia by some ‘individuals and groups and these criminal activities have become the routine of ‘Local Aussies’ and most profitable business of a ‘Thug Cluster’ since last many years but neither the ‘concerned authorities nor the government missionary takes any action against culprits even they do not know about such type of illicit acts as well as offenders’ conspiracies; victims, experts and sources claimed.
According to a report published in Sydney Moring Herald yesterday under the title of “International students pushed into ‘dark corners’ of Sydney’s rental market” and as per the contents of the report, the International students are being exploited by Sydney’s under-regulated informal housing market, according to a new report which has uncovered evidence of harassment, overcrowding and sudden evictions.
The UNSW report, compiled by the university’s Human Rights Clinic, found a considerable portion of Sydney’s international students didn’t have access to affordable, legal and secure accommodation.
Often alone and unaware of their legal rights, many international students are confronted with sudden and illegal rent increases, while some never get their rental bond back. Others arrive in Australia having already paid thousands of dollars for accommodation that doesn’t exist.
UNSW Human Rights Clinic director Bassina Farbenblum said Sydney’s high housing prices and limited student accommodation was pushing international students into “dark corners” of the city’s rental market.
“There’s certainly financial exploitation where some property providers and landlords are taking advantage of the fact that international students aren’t aware of standard housing practices in Sydney and don’t know their legal rights,” Ms Farbenblum said.
“The landlords see this as a pretty easy and productive business model.”
The study found exploitation ranged from forcing students to pay $10 each time they needed to use their oven to blatant racism, with landlords refusing students from particular countries.
An analysis of Kingsford Legal Centre cases as part of the study found that almost 40 per cent of international students who sought help did so for deceptive or exploitative conduct by landlords, while a quarter had problems recovering their rental bonds.
Ruturaj Khenat, who arrived in Sydney from Mumbai in 2016 to study engineering, was told by his landlord that rent for his single room – one of 12 on a floor with shared amenities – would increase from $300 to $410 per week halfway through his lease.
“I was pretty stressed because it’s not easy to find a place in Sydney,” he said.
He sought help from the university’s legal services office, which sent a letter to the private accommodation provider, who backed down.
Khenat, who was an overseas student’s officer at his university, said while he was made aware of the assistance on offer to him, many weren’t.
He said many others on his floor received the same rental increase demand and decided to move out. The report is continued and one can see further through net.
Messenger has already been published many reports in this connection but no one is ready to take any action because majority of the involved culprits are either ‘white’ like “Brenton Tarrant” or companions of ‘whites’, sources concluded.
“Landlords really do take advantage of this because they know they’re not going to do anything because they’re international students,” he said.
“We came from different countries and we didn’t want to get in trouble, that’s why we don’t take action.”
The study also uncovered an Australian company with offices in China that sold “all inclusive service-accommodation” in Sydney with airport pickups.
The accommodation was contracted under an occupancy agreement in an attempt by the company to allegedly evade their Residential Tenancies Act obligations, and students were forced to pay three months of rent in advance.
Upon arriving in Australia, some students were told their accommodation wasn’t ready and were forced to make alternative arrangements.
Many students were not able to recover their money, while others who eventually moved into the accommodation found it was not what they were told it would be.
Ms Farbenblum said overseas students subjected to these rorts often felt like they had no way out.
“They’re paying large sums of money and then they arrive and in some cases the property doesn’t even exist and in other cases it’s completely different or there are two or three people in the room,” she said.
“Then they’re really stuck because they’ve paid a lot of money up front to these people.”
The report found evidence that ongoing overcrowding, exploitation and harassment by landlords could affect student’s mental health.
It made 12 recommendations, including that universities increase the amount of on-campus housing. It also recommended local councils work with developers to incentivise construction of affordable housing for international students.
Greater accountability and transparency in the market was also needed, according to the report, which recommended the NSW government provide public transport concessions for international students, so they could live further away from university.
Asked whether the NSW government would consider offering concessions, a Transport for NSW spokeswoman said some international students were entitled to them if their study was fully funded by an Australian government scholarship.
Messenger has already been published many reports in this connection but no one is ready to take any action because majority of the involved culprits are either ‘white’ like “Brenton Tarrant” or companions of ‘whites’, sources reveled.
It is pertinent to be noted that Messenger have been publishing such type of reports which have not only become the part of country’s data but counted as significant addition of Australian history. The published reports have not only also proved hundred percent correct with the date, day, timing and place sensitivities but appreciated globally (except Australia and Aussies) that’s why millions of people across the world also recognize, trust and consider Messenger and its exclusive news stories.
Education, politics, crimes, cultural, health and medical, medicines, urban and rural life, discrimination, religious, ethnic, terrorism, fascism, corruption, law and order, police and other law enforcing agencies and secret forces, import and export, trade and commerce and especially in immigration sector, the Messenger has always been trying to flash the information, news, views and exclusive stories just because the awareness for its readers as well as general public and through its publication, Messenger fulfills its professional and journalistic responsibilities and provides a platform of oppressed people to the concerned authorities to redress their issues in the interest of social justice but a famous proverb “a prophet is never welcome in his own town” is used as same neither the Australia will accept any non-Australian at any cost nor gives any weight to any foreigner or non-Aussie journalist or media outlet that’s why neither no one knows Australia until today that it’s a person, place or thing nor Australia or Aussies are counted in any sector anywhere throughout the world but as another international quote is used “a dog’s tail is crooked forever”, ‘Australia’ will remain same; sources counted.
