You're on your own, kid: International students lacking mental health support

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2024-07-03 03:00

Australia; NSW; VIC

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***This media release contains information some readers may find distressing as it refers to data about mental health, suicide and self-harm. If you or anyone you know needs help, support is available now. Call Lifeline (Aus) on 131 114 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636, or Lifeline (NZ) on 0800 543 354. ***

The international student experience at an Australian university can be a distressing one, and Aussie universities aren't doing enough to support the mental health of the students they bring in to make a profit, according to Australian researchers. Following a coronial report into suicides of international students in Victoria, the researchers analysed the availability and quality of policies addressing international student mental health at Australian universities. The team say policies are hard to find, and the ones that do exist generally frame mental health as the responsibility of each individual student to build 'resilience', rather than a product of the social isolation, financial and housing insecurity, racial discrimination and exploitation in the workforce international students are at high risk of experiencing.