Education fees for international student’s dependent children “breach” UN rules

International students and other temporary visa holders are being forced to pay thousands of dollars a year in fees for their children to attend public schools, a potential breach of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission is preparing a report to show the state government that fees for public schools, especially the primary years, breach Australia’s obligations under the UN convention that requires primary education to be “compulsory and available free to all”. The commission also specifies that the practice breaches the state’s equal opportunity laws, which stipulate that schools must not discriminate on the basis of nationality, and the state’s charter of human rights, which says every child has the right, without discrimination, to such protection as is in their best interests. The fees for international student dependent children range from $3600 for primary school and $4500 for High School in South Australia, to almost $14 000 for years 11 and 12 in the ACT. Parents on temporary skilled work visas such as the 457, created to meet the national skills shortage, must also pay public school fees in NSW and ACT. The NSW government charges $4500 a year fro primary and high school, up to $5500 for years 11 and 12, while ACT charges $9320 for primary school, $12500 for secondary and $13900 for years 11 and 12. Sources and further reading: The Australian