(Transcript from World News Radio)
The latest figures from the Department of Immigration show international student visa lodgements are on the rise.
Lodgements in the December quarter of 2013 were 11 per cent higher than in the same period a year earlier.
The increase is a welcome boost for the international student market, but it comes amid continuing concerns about international student safety.
Peggy Giakoumelos reports.
The New South Wales Police Force is currently the only state in Australia with a position dedicated to international student welfare.
Thomson Ch'ng is the President of the Council of International Students in Australia.
"In NSW in particular after what happened in the past few years we've seen some progress from the NSW Police Force. They appointed a corporate spokesperson just to look after international students, Superintendent Gavin Dangate. So I think this is great progress. We don't see anything happening yet in other states, which is why I think this is a good practical step that should be shared across and see how other states can follow the footsteps as well."
In 2012, the death at the hands of police by taser of Roberto Laudisio, a 21-year-old student from Brazil, triggered widespread condemnation from student groups and mental health advocates.
NSW Police decided to rethink how the force deals with people in mental distress, and the impact language and cultural barriers play in policing vulnerable people.
Corporate Spokesman for International Students, Detective Superintendent Gavin Dengate, says the NSW Police have been working hard to repair the broken trust created by the death of Roberto Laudisio.
"We want the kids to trust the police because we know that a number of kids come from places where the relationship between the police and the youth isn't what it is in Australia. So that's the first part. The second part is that on many occasions they come to is not for matters relating to safety. It's more for welfare. So issues relating to tenancy disputes, where they are living and issues related to work issues, so we refer them to other government agencies. But we certainly push the safety messages in things like rail safety, safety in public transport, where to walk. When is the best place to walk from point A to point B. What do you have on your person when you're walking around from point A to point B. All those other issues, which are very similar to other areas within the community.
Steps to improve relations between NSW Police and international students in the past two years have been commended by the NSW Community Relations Commission.
The Chair of the Commission, Vic Alhadeff, says its latest annual report praises the NSW Police for being pro-active in working with multicultural communities.
"We are working with instrumentalities government agencies, bodies across the state, and the NSW Police have emerged as setting a standard in tremendous work in working together with different communities in setting a message that multiculturalism is what we're about."
Dr Helen Forbes-Mewett is a Lecturer in Sociology at Monash University in Melbourne.
She's recently completed a four-year study on International Student Safety from Crime - and is currently compiling a report to be released later this year.
The study was based on 150-in-depth interviews with international students and those who work with them.
One issue that's emerged is the vulnerability of female students.
"While we've been seeing more media reports about violent crime from strangers in the public arena, much of the crime is by known persons against females in private spaces. Those crimes are quiet serious, but there's also a lot of petty type crime that goes on. So those shocking sort of crimes that we have been witnessing or seeing in the media are aberrations in a sense in that they are quite unusual."
Dr Helen Forbes-Mewett says in some ways the safety issues affecting international students are similar to those affecting anyone travelling to a foreign country.
"I sort of compare it to being a tourist in that I have been in strange places and know that I have stood out. As being a person unsure of where they are. And as much as you try to blend in a person who has not been in country or an area for very long does stand out even it it's not particularly visible characteristics. It's just the way we behave when we're in different places and it's that that makes us vulnerable."
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