A team of educationists from the University of Victoria and police officers from that state landed in Chennai on Monday or a six-city tour to brief Indian students preparing to join college in Australia.
All but one of the recent hate attacks on Indian students were in Melbourne, the capital city of Victoria.
The visit was planned before this spate of attacks on Indian students.
It indicates there was an undercurrent of distrust, forcing the authorities in Victoria to send a team to reassure Indian students about the safety.
A majority of more than 95,000 Indian students in Australia are based in Sydney and Melbourne.
The team is expected to travel from Chennai to Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Ahmedabad.
The team will be in Delhi over the weekend.
The agenda is to brief students on conditions in Australia and the
cultural differences to expect after arriving in Melbourne.
Tips on safe neighbourhoods for accommodation, precautions young Indians need to take while in Australia and whom to contact in case of an emergency will be part of the routine orientation programme.
18 Indians held
Indian students who held a protest against racial attacks on Tuesday accused the Australian police of using excessive force and “ram-rodding” to break up their overnight sit-in.
Police detained 18 Indian students for “breaching peace”.
Victoria police chief Simon Overland justified the action.
Victims of hate:May 9: Saurabh Sharma, 21, beaten up, robbed in train
May 24: Sravan Kumar Theerthala, 25, and three friends assaulted by teenagers who gate-crashed a party in western Melbourne. Petrol bomb hurled at Rajesh Kumar, 25, in Sydney. Kumar suffered 30% burns
May 25: Baljinder Singh, 25, stabbed and robbed outside a metro station
May 30: Ashish Sood, 28, assaulted in Melbourne
May 31: An Indian taxi driver is assaulted by a drunk Australian passenger
