Post-study work options - University of Wollongong

As an international student you may be able to continue to live and work in Australia temporarily, following completion of your UOW degree. Graduating students are not guaranteed a post-study work visa, and must meet strict conditions to be granted a visa.

You can apply for a post-study work visa if:

you are under 50 years of age
you hold an eligible visa
you have recently completed an eligible qualification, and
you meet the study requirements outlined by the Australian government.

For full details on the options available to international students in Australia, see the Temporary Graduate visa information available from the Australian Department of Home Affairs.

Special eligibility for Wollongong students

International students who choose to study in Wollongong now have access to special visa arrangements announced by the Australian government in 2019. Under these new arrangements, Wollongong has been classified as a regional area for migration purposes.

Eligible students who choose to study and then continue to live in Wollongong will benefit from:

priority processing and access to one of 25,000 dedicated regional visa places
access to an expanded list of occupations that qualify for a visa
the ability to apply for a second Temporary Graduate visa with an additional year of post-study work.

You’ll find more information about regional migration from the Australian Department of Home Affairs.

Pathways to employment

We spoke to some Australian employers about the skills they value most in their employees, and how international students can help prepare themselves for the Australian workplace.

Learn about the career support we offer

My name is Martin and I am the digital and social media marketing advisor here in BlueScope, Port Kembla.

The great thing about my role, is that I get to work as part of a broader team of recruiters and talent advisors who are exploring and promoting all sorts of different roles.

The big thing that we're looking for, is that they're curious and open to networking, and understanding other people, because it's that sort of human connection, underpinned by your studies, which will help you to solve problems.

That's the stuff that makes you employable.

My name is Joe McLaren. I work for FDM group, and my role within the company is to lead the Sales Division.

Since FDM started in Australia in August 2016, we've hired over 150 people.

The sort of things that that we're looking for are really attitude; an attitude and a level of resilience.

Our employability criteria is not a set of bullet points on a job description.

We're really looking for the person, and what potential they have.

Go out there and try work experience perhaps while you're studying. It could be an internship, it could be a certain part-time position. Getting practical hands-on experience to match-up and marry with the lessons that you've attained while doing your university studies.

What an internship or work experience shows is that you've gone out there and you've actually completed something potentially outside of your comfort zone. Resilience then comes into that.

The ability to show resilience in times of change is quite an important characteristic that employers are looking for when hiring.

When you submit a new resume, think: how have I expressed myself? Is the formatting clean? Have I left enough white space? Is the spelling and grammar correct?

Often international students are actually quite worried about their English spoken ability, or their language skills. Whereas actually coming with a number of different languages on your CV is an incredible attribute for you to possess when entering the job market.

One of the great things about being somewhere like the University of Wollongong is that there are lots of great ways to network and get to know the place, and really that can lead to ways into such businesses.

I think it's a fantastic environment to come learn, study, and work in. The degree that the graduates from the University of Wollongong have had are recognised across the globe. The level of talent in the students that we've seen come from the University been very, very good, but it's the individual person that's come through so the University has provided a fantastic foundation for you to go and achieve things, but it's really for you to then go and leapfrog into the next part of your working life.

The people who are considering coming to Wollongong, to study and to work - be ready to embrace new skills, challenge yourself, meet new people. Go for it.