Australia’s International Student Racket Bleeds the Country! Shut Down the Visa Supermarket! By James Reed

Australia's universities have become a shameless international student supermarket, peddling cut-rate degrees and backdoor visas while the nation chokes on the fallout. Macrobusiness lays bare the ugly truth: 1.1 million foreign students flooded the country by late 2024, a quarter-million more than pre-Covid, with 222,200 graduate visas and 379,800 bridging visas turning our migration system into a free-for-all. This isn't education, it's a racket, a betrayal of Aussies priced out of homes, hospitals, and jobs by a greedy uni. cartel that's sold our future to the highest bidder. India and China wouldn't let their universities morph into migration mills, so why are we? It's time to smash this dollar-degree factory, kick the visa vultures to the curb, and put our universities back in their place, serving Australians, not global profiteers! This is our country, not a clearance sale for foreign cash!

The numbers are a national disgrace. Macrobusiness reports 1.1 million international students enrolled by December 2024, up 250,000 from 2019's peak. Graduate visas, work permits for so-called "students" doubled to 222,200 by Q1 2025, while bridging visas, used by ex-students gaming the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) to dodge deportation, hit 379,800. Studyportals piles on: Australia's global student demand surged 8% in 2025, with undergraduate enrolments up 9%. The Albanese government's "caps"? A sick joke, 201,490 student visas were issued in February 2025 alone. South Asians, especially Indians and Nepalis, dominate, lured by 48-hour work rights and permanent residency (PR) dreams, with one in five 485 visas handed to their families, per Department of Home Affairs.

This isn't learning, it's a visa supermarket. The Australian exposes "visa mill" colleges where 30% of students flunk basic English, churning out grads who'd rather flip burgers than innovate; 20% of 485 visa holders re-enrol in dodgy vocational courses to milk more time, clogging the ART with 379,800 appeals. The Migration calls it a "stay-forever" scam, with tribunal delays letting freeloaders linger years. Meanwhile, universities rake in $48 billion, fourth-largest export, per Times of India, stuffing their coffers while Aussies queue for rentals or hospital beds. It's economic treason, plain and simple.

Call it what it is: a foreign invasion sanctioned by uni. fat cats and spineless pollies. CoreLogic pegs Sydney's median rent at $750/week, up 20% in 2024, with student-heavy suburbs facing 30% vacancy drops, per Domain. The Guardian ties the 510,000 net migration spike of 2022-23 to student hordes, with The Conversation estimating they added 130,000 to that mess. Labor's 48-hour work rule, lets students flood low-wage jobs, hospitality, retail, Uber, slashing local pay. The Sydney Morning Herald warns of infrastructure buckling: overcrowded trains, overrun clinics, and schools turning away locals.It is an "immigration scam," with unis laughing to the bank while Aussies sleep in tents.

And don't buy the "cultural enrichment" tripe. The Australian reports private colleges, visa mills by another name, graduate students who can't string a sentence together, diluting our degree's worth. Macrobusiness cites 15% of vocational providers as "ghost schools," peddling visas, not skills. Labor's flooding the country, and universities are the tap. India and China guard their education systems like fortresses, strict entry, no PR carrots. Yet Australia's unis fling doors wide, turning campuses into foreign enclaves where locals feel like strangers. It's not diversity; it's displacement.

Universities aren't schools anymore, they're corporate leeches. The Age admits international fees ($40,000-$60,000/year) prop up budgets, cross-subsidising domestic places. But where's the money? The Australian Financial Review exposes $400 million in wage theft and deficits at one in four unis, with execs pocketing million-dollar salaries while staff face cuts. QS World Rankings boasts four top-50 unis, yet The Australian warns of declining standards as lecturers juggle 50-student tutorials packed with non-English speakers.

This cartel thrives on addiction to foreign cash. StudyAustralia notes 270,000 jobs rely on this sector, but at what cost? The Conversation says unis lowered entry bars to snag students, eroding academic rigor. Times of India reports 577,000 arrivals in 2023, many at subpar colleges. India's IITs and China's Tsinghua don't play these games, they demand excellence. Our unis? They're diploma vending machines, and we're the suckers footing the bill.

Macrobusiness's reforms, tougher English tests, financial hurdles, work caps, closing visa mills, are a start, but they're too timid. Here's the radical reset Australia needs:

Torch the Visa Mills: Shut every private college failing 50% of English tests, as The Australian suggests. EducationOne estimates 15% are scams, raze them. Redirect students to public TAFEs, prioritising Aussies.

Slash Student Visas: Cap annual intakes at 200,000, down from 577,000, per Times of India. Bloomberg notes Labor's 270,000 cap for 2025, cut deeper. Ban undergrads from bringing families, slashing 485 visa bloat (20% for spouses/kids, per Macrobusiness).

End PR Pipelines: Scrap work rights during study and 485 visas unless graduates earn $95,000+, aligning with VisaFast's skilled migration push. StudyAustralia says 60% of 485 holders fill IT and health gaps, fine, but make them elite, not average.

Choke the ART: Clear 379,800 bridging visas with a six-month deadline, hiring 100 new tribunal judges, per The Migration. Human Rights Law Centre cries "due process" — tough. No more gaming the system.

Tax Uni Profits: Slap a 20% levy on international fees, funding 20,000 campus housing units, easing city rents, per The Guardian. ICEF Monitor says visa fees ($1,600 each) could bankroll it, do it.

Fire the Fat Cats: Cap uni. exec pay at $500,000, redirecting savings to hire 5,000 lecturers, per The Australian Financial Review. The Age exposes $1M salaries amid deficits, end the gravy train. Fire them!

India and China don't let foreigners overrun their unis or cities, so why should we? Times of India says India's student visas require rigorous exams; China's limit work to zero. Australia's a doormat, and unis are the welcome mat. This isn't xenophobia; it's survival. Our kids deserve degrees that mean something, not watered-down papers from a global fire sale.

The international student racket is bleeding Australia dry, skyrocketing rents, crushed wages, and a migration system in chaos. Universities, once our pride, are now visa supermarkets, flogging degrees to anyone with a pulse and a bank account. Macrobusiness exposes the rot: 1.1 million students, 222,200 graduate visas, 379,800 bridging visas, and a government too gutless to act. India and China wouldn't stand for this, they'd shut it down. So must we. Torch the visa mills, slash intakes, and make unis serve Aussies again. This is our home, not a clearance bin for foreign takeovers.

https://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2025/05/international-students-flock-to-australia/

"The latest data from the Department of Education shows that a record 1.1 million international students were enrolled in Australia at the end of 2024, nearly 250,000 higher than the 2019 pre-pandemic peak:

The number of graduate visas on issue hit a record high of 222,200 in Q1 2025, more than double the 2019 pre-pandemic peak:

The number of bridging visas on issue also hit a record high of 379,800, driven in part by former students refusing to return home and appealing to the Administrative Review Tribunal:

The notion that federal government caps have reduced international student numbers doesn't pass scrutiny.

New research by Dutch analytics company Studyportals has found that Australia was the only major destination to register an uptick in international student demand over the first three months of 2025.

The report is based on survey responses from 240 institutions in 48 countries, mostly the key education destinations of the US, UK, Canada, and Australia.

The study found that Australia's share of international student demand has climbed by 8% so far in 2025.

Undergraduate enrolments in Australia were up 9% on last year, with over 60% of institutions reporting increases.

However, postgraduate enrolments in Australia were down 13% from last year even though 54% of institutions reported increases.

The newly reelected Labor government must stem the growth in student and graduate visas by targeting quality over quantity via the following types of reforms:

Increasing English-language proficiency criteria and require prospective students to pass entrance exams before applying for a study visa.

Increasing financial requirements, including requiring students to deposit money in an escrow account before coming to Australia.

Limiting the hours overseas students can work and abolishing the direct relationship between studying, working, and acquiring permanent residency.

Closing down the numerous dodgy private colleges that operate as visa mills.

Allowing only distinction-level or higher international graduates to gain post-study 485 graduate visas.

Allowing only postgraduate overseas students to bring family members with them into Australia.

Increasing the temporary skilled migration income threshold to more than the median full-time earnings (currently around $95,000).

The Albanese government must also tighten up the appeals process for the Administrative Review Tribunal to stop temporary migrants (including students) from gaming the system to remain in Australia after their visa has expired.

These reforms would lower the number of international students, graduates, and bridging visa holders while lifting the average quality and productivity of the migration system.