Representatives from Hindu Council of Australia have attended a meeting with the immigration department to discuss the impact of Covid on our community. The meeting was attended by another 10 Indian organizations. The main points of interest are :
1. The immigration dept will be more flexible with tourist and student visas where people are stranded here and will look at extension of their visas without having to pay additional renewal fees. Such a forced overstay should not be considered as breaching visa conditions.
2. International students facing hardship can apply to their University/Institute to help them out of the hardship funds. Universities should be more flexible with attendance rules given that classes are being conducted online.
3. Those on work visas should rely on their superannuation and on their employer to help them through this period.
4. An issue was raised that many elderly rely on rental payment to support themselves instead of going on pension. It was clarified that any rent assistance that tenants get will directly go to the landlord.
5. Number of domestic violence cases is on the rise and the government is looking at involving community organizations to help.
Hindu Council representatives are meeting the Minister for Immigration and ill continue to pursue these points at all levels of Government.
