International students studying in Australia told the federal government on Tuesday that they wanted to be able to work more, access transport concessions and have their education sector more strictly regulated.

Australian Education Minister Julia Gillard this week convened a roundtable meeting of 31 international students in Canberra to identify the challenges they faced and to hear their proposed solutions.

The student delegation presented Gillard with their report, which included a raft of suggested sector improvements.

While the students said that their education experiences were generally positive, they were concerned about a lack of pre-arrival information, the provision of quality local education facilities and accessing basic life services.

They called on the Australian government to more strongly regulate education providers and suggested industry minimum standards with strict penalties for breaches be enforced.

 International students were facing significant financial hardship stemming from uncertainty around rising tuition fees, limited scholarships and the high living costs, they said.

These challenges pressured them to work longer hours and the group requested their visa work limits be increased from 20 to 25 hours per week to allow for this.

"The roundtable does not seek preferential treatment for international students, only equal treatment to domestic students," they stressed in a communique.

 To advocate on their behalf and address their complaints, the group recommended an independent body for international students be created.

(www.eduwo.com, Jainlyn&Charlotte)