The Department has been forced to reinstate the visas of 8,000 international students after forms which recorded their academic performance were found to be flawed following a court case in June.

The convenor of the National Liaison Committee for Overseas Students AKSHAY SARAF says many students will be reluctant to study in AUSTRALIA as a result of the case.

He said:

The lives of those students have been ruined. For many of them, their careers are at stake. Many people mortgaged their property to come to Australia and study. So it's a financial loss and I think it will damage Australia's reputation overseas. What about the mental and the financial loss for those students? It'll all very well to say that they can resume their studies in Australia. But the financial loss and the emotional loss those students have suffered- who is going to compensate for that?

Educational institutions have to tell DIMIA if students attend fewer than 80 per cent of their courses or fail too many subjects and students must report to the department within four weeks.

But a form issued to the affected students broke rules set out in the Migration Act by telling them to report to a specific officer, when in fact they could contact any officer.

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