Originally Posted by
bakerin
Got it, but out of curiosity why specifically Australia?
It came from some trade deal where the USA rewarded Australia for something because we're friends. Just politics so we don't really understand it.
The heyday of the E3 where 1500 hour Aussies came to US regionals with no FAA licenses and ended up with FAA ATPs and a job in a regional jet (with no financial outlay from themselves) may have slowed down a bit. Hard to say where it goes from here.
Lots to read if you're interested in the evolution of this phenomenon:
Australian pilots can work for US regionals.