STAR clearances

hi everyone, wanted to share an interesting thing I learnt and try to find out more. Yesterday I was flying into Sydney and when I contacted the centre controller, I received a descent clearance but not a star. I asked to confirm which star I was on, and I was told that I hadn't been cleared for any specific star because the winds could change and I would have to edit my star, and generally stars are not issued at cruising altitude. As this controller told me that he was/had been a real pilot, I am sure that this is true in real life. My question is, what would be the benefits to not doing this, and do controllers from other divisions do this as well? Never heard it before on VATPAC, but thinking about it, it makes a lot of sense.

Also, shout out to Daryl on ML_BIK_CTR who told me this and was super friendly :)