Camille Semmel, a 25-year-old French international student in Adelaide, has developed an app designed to support mental health among young people, but faces potential deportation due to Australian visa restrictions. Semmel created AHFY (Always Here For You) after experiencing difficulty accessing counselling services at the University of Adelaide, where she studied a master’s degree in artificial intelligence and machine learning.
The app offers users therapist-informed exercises, breathing techniques, and meditation practices aimed at managing emotions and reducing loneliness. It has already undergone testing at Scotch College and is set to be piloted across the university in the coming month. Semmel’s startup, based in the university’s ThinkLab incubator, currently employs four people. She has also been in negotiations to expand the app’s reach to a premier sporting club in Australia and a university in India.
Semmel, who completed her undergraduate studies in business and administration in Paris, said she established the app after facing a three-month wait for university counselling services. "The goal was whenever a person feels lonely or doesn’t know what to do with their emotions, they can just come on the app," she said. "It regulates your emotions, calms you down, and makes you feel less lonely."
Despite the success of her business, Semmel may be forced to leave Australia due to the federal government’s closure of entrepreneur visa applications two years ago. These visas previously enabled international students and entrepreneurs to remain in Australia while running startups. Semmel expressed frustration at the policy, calling it an “absurd” barrier that threatens both her visa status and the future of her company.
“I don’t have any visa options anymore,” she said. “It breaks my heart… We’re helping students, hoping to help companies, and changing one person at a time to give them the help they need.” She criticised the decision as a loss of potential economic and employment benefits to South Australia.
The University of Adelaide expressed concern over the government’s tightening of migration rules affecting international students and temporary workers. In a statement, Professor Jessica Gallagher, deputy vice-chancellor for international and external engagement, noted that Semmel “embodies the positive impact that international education and innovation can have on people’s lives.” Gallagher highlighted Semmel’s role in supporting emotional resilience among young people and mentoring aspiring entrepreneurs.
A spokesperson for Immigration Minister Tony Burke declined to comment on Semmel’s individual case but emphasized that entrepreneur visa pathways remain open under specific eligibility criteria. The government’s position suggests that while certain options exist, access to these pathways has been significantly restricted in recent years, complicating matters for international graduates launching new businesses in Australia.