I'm standing in the queue at my local servo, the kind of place where the coffee's too weak but the chatter's strong. Behind the counter, a young bloke—maybe 20, maybe Indian or Nepalese—juggles orders with a grin, his accent thick but his hustle thicker. He's probably a student, I think, here for a degree but working nights to pay rent in a city that chews up dreams. His mate, stacking shelves, could be his brother, cousin, or even his kid's uncle. That's when it hits me: Australia's international student game isn't just about education anymore. It's a migration pipeline, and families are along for the ride.

Back in the day, studying abroad meant a few bright kids landing in Sydney or Melbourne, cracking open textbooks, and maybe slinging pizzas on the side. Australia sold itself as a brain hub—world-class unis, sunny beaches, a ticket to a better life. But somewhere along the way, the pitch changed. By 2025, the student visa system's become a beast, bloated with loopholes and promises of something bigger: work, residency, a new home. And it's not just students. It's their spouses, their kids, whole clans chasing the dream.

The numbers tell the story. In 2019, about 89,000 temporary graduate visas—those post-study work permits that let you stick around after uni—were floating around. By the end of 2024, that number exploded to 195,000. Who's driving it? South Asia, mostly. Indians jumped from 29,000 to 70,000 visas, a 143% leap. Nepalese? From 13,000 to 32,000, up 149%. Sri Lankans and Bhutanese surged even harder, some by 200% or 400%. Even Pakistanis doubled their slice. China, the big dog in student numbers, grew slower, just 87%. These aren't just students anymore; they're families, with one in five of those visas held by a spouse or child.

I picture a young guy from Kathmandu, let's call him Arjun, landing in Brisbane with a master's degree acceptance letter and stars in his eyes. He's not just here for lectures. He's got a wife, maybe a toddler, tagging along. Australia's rules let them come—spouses can work 48 hours a fortnight, kids get school. Sounds generous, right? But Arjun's not studying engineering at a sandstone uni. He's at some dodgy private college, a visa mill churning out credentials nobody respects. His wife's cleaning houses, maybe under the table in the cash economy. They're not here for Shakespeare or quantum physics; they're here to work, to stay, to build a life.

Higher education guru Andrew Norton crunched the numbers: one in three visas from places like India, Nepal, or Bhutan goes to family members. That's not a bug; it's a feature. The system lets students like Arjun bring their clan, hoping the whole lot might score permanent residency. But the dream's shaky. Grattan Institute research from 2023 shows these graduates often end up in dead-end jobs—think Uber drivers or dishwashers, earning peanuts compared to Aussie grads. Half of international bachelor's degree holders are stuck in unskilled gigs three years out. Arjun's not climbing the corporate ladder; he's scraping by, and his family's along for the grind.

Why's this happening? Australia's post-study work rights are some of the loosest on the planet. Finish a degree, and you can stay two, three, even four years, working whatever you can find. For South Asians, that's gold—work rights trump course quality every time. And the family bit? It's a multiplier. Norton warns the numbers will spike higher. The big enrolment boom of 2023 and 2024—think 166,000 new students flooding in by early 2025—means more Arjuns graduating, more families applying for 485 visas. A two-year master's started in 2023? They're hitting the visa queue now, families in tow.

I'm not saying Arjun's a villain. He's chasing a better life, same as anyone. But the system's broken. On X, folks are fuming, calling it a "migration scam" that Labor and the Coalition let fester. They've got a point. The AFR's Julie Hare flagged how these visas get exploited—graduates take low-paid jobs, employers dodge rules, and families stretch housing and job markets thin. It's not just Arjun's family; it's thousands, adding pressure to cities already creaking under migration waves.

So why let students bring families at all? Education's supposed to be about learning, not backdoor residency. The 2023 Migration Review laid it bare: too many "students" aren't here for study. They're gaming the system, and dodgy colleges are their ticket. I think of my old mate, a sparky who can't find apprentices because low-wage visa holders flood the market. He's not anti-migrant; he's just tired of a rigged game.

There's a fix, but it's tough love. Picture a system where only the best students come—no more visa mills, no more C-grade diplomas. Make them pass real English tests, not just wave a dodgy certificate. Force them to prove they've got cash to live, maybe locked in an escrow account. Cut their work hours so they focus on study, not side hustles. And the big one: stop letting undergrads bring families. Save that for PhD types, the brainiacs we actually need. Oh, and only give post-study visas to grads with distinction or better. If you're barely scraping a pass, hit the road.

That's not all. Bump the skilled migration income threshold to $95,000, above the median wage. No more cheap labour masquerading as "talent." Shut down the colleges that exist to print visas, not degrees. It's not cruel; it's fair. Australia deserves students who want to learn, not just linger.

I'm back at the servo, watching that young bloke ring up my coffee. I wonder if he's Arjun, or someone like him, caught in a system that promises the world but delivers a treadmill. He's working hard, but for what? A shot at residency that might never come? Australia sold him an education, but it's really selling a mirage—one that's crowding our cities and short-changing our future. It's time to rewrite the rules, before the dream drowns us all.

https://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2025/04/ban-international-students-from-bringing-their-families/

"Australia offers some of the world's most generous post-study work rights for international students …

These generous post-study work rights are coveted by "students" from South Asia, who value post-study work rights and opportunities for permanent residency above most other factors.

Australia has experienced an explosion in graduate (485) visa numbers.

As illustrated above, the number of temporary graduate (485) visas on issue has more than doubled since the onset of the pandemic, from 89,324 at the end of 2019 to 195,307 at the end of 2024.

This explosion in graduate visa numbers has been driven by students from South Asian nations.

Indian graduate visa numbers surged from 28,850 in Q4 2019 to 70,123 in Q4 2024, an increase of 143%.

Nepalese graduate visa numbers surged from 13,116 in Q4 2019 to 32,644 in Q4 2024, an increase of 149%.

Pakistan graduate visa numbers surged from 3,993 in Q4 2019 to 8,139 in Q4 2024, an increase of 104%.

Sri Lanka graduate visa numbers surged from 2,862 in Q4 2019 to 8,674 in Q4 2024, an increase of 203%.

Bhutan graduate visa numbers surged from 851 in Q4 2019 to 4,801 in Q4 2024, an increase of 464%.

China, which is Australia's largest international student market, experienced relatively modest growth in graduate visas, from 14,136 in Q4 2019 to 26,495 in Q4 2024, an increase of 87%.

New analysis from higher education expert Andrew Norton shows that one in five graduate visas on issue are for the spouses or children of primary visa holders.

At least one in three graduate visas from India, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka are for family members.

As noted by The AFR's Education editor Julie Hare:

Under immigration rules, both overseas students and graduate visa holders can bring family members with them. Spouses can legally work for up to 48 hours a fortnight. Some may work illegally in the cash economy. Research by the Grattan Institute in 2023 found that graduates on 485 visas in low-paid jobs were more likely to exploit the visa system to work and were also more likely to be exploited by unscrupulous employers…

Norton said it was "very likely" some groups were exploiting 485 visas, by bringing in their family members to also access the jobs market and in the hope they might eventually be eligible for permanent residency.

Norton forecast that the number of family members from the above South Asian nations will jump as a result of a post-pandemic enrolment surge in students from those nations.

"The really big increase in new overseas student enrolments were in 2023 and 2024 and that will flow through to a big increase in people applying for 485 visas", he said.

"So if they started a two-year-master's degree at the beginning of 2023, they will have graduated by the end of 2024. We will start to see pretty significant numbers will start to apply now and in the coming months".

Why does Australia allow international students and graduates to bring spouses and children with them to Australia? Why has Australia turned student/graduate visas into de facto work and residency visas?

Analysis from the Grattan Institute showed that graduate visa holders tend to be low-paid, earning far less than domestic graduates.

The 2023 Migration Review also showed that more than half (51%) of international graduates with bachelor's degrees worked in unskilled jobs three years after graduation.

Ultimately, the federal government should aim for a far lower number of high-quality international students and graduates. Such an objective could be achieved via the following types of policy reforms:

Significantly increase English-language proficiency requirements and mandate prospective students to pass entrance exams before qualifying for a student visa.

Significantly increase financial requirements, including requiring students to deposit funds into an escrow account before arriving in Australia.

Reduce the number of hours that international students can work and sever the direct link between studying, working, and obtaining permanent residency.

Close down the many dodgy private colleges that act as visa mills.

Allow only distinction-level international graduates or above to receive post-study (485) visas.

Allow only postgraduate international students to bring family members.

Increase the temporary skilled migration income threshold to above the median full-time salary (currently ~$95,000).

These types of reforms would place quality above quantity. They would significantly reduce the number of international students and graduates while lifting the average quality and overall productivity of the migration system.