This is a topic that could reshape Australia's future if we don't get our act together. Economist Leith van Onselen recently released a report exposing how Australia's visa system is being exploited on a massive scale. The data is stark: temporary visa holders (excluding short-term visitors) hit 2.547 million in the September quarter of 2025 — roughly 9.2% of the population. Pre-pandemic, it was 7.8%. When Labor took office in 2022, it was 7.2%. The system is growing faster than the economy can absorb.
Van Onselen's warning is clear: this isn't organic growth or evidence of a thriving economy. It's a symptom of systemic loopholes, particularly through student and bridging visas. If left unchecked, this surge risks creating a temporary population that overstays, strains services, and undermines social cohesion.
Bridging visas are meant to be stopgaps — short-term extensions while applications are processed or issues resolved. But numbers have exploded by over 200,000 since 2019. Many applicants, often former students whose visas were denied or capped, are chaining bridging visas to remain in Australia longer than intended. As former immigration official Abul Rizvi notes, bridging visa growth is the key barometer of the system's health. Right now, that barometer is flashing red.
Processing delays, tribunal backlogs, and administrative inefficiencies mean thousands are stuck in limbo. According to reports, tens of thousands of people had protection visas denied but remain in the country due to slow deportation or appeals. Rizvi warns this risks creating a large, invisible underclass, and the warning is worth taking seriously.
Student visas were designed for education. But current structures — including work rights, low-cost programs, and lenient course options — make it easy to remain onshore without advancing education outcomes. Many students work while studying, which is legal and often encouraged, but combined with indefinite bridging visa pathways, the system can inadvertently reward non-academic retention.
Universities and vocational providers are caught in a bind: caps and compliance measures reduce intake, yet demand persists. Many programs offer minimal instruction hours, allowing students to qualify for visa eligibility without completing meaningful study. The result? Policy exploitation rather than education.
Unchecked, this creates pressure on housing, infrastructure, healthcare, and labour markets. Services stretch thinner, rents rise, and wages stagnate. Communities feel squeezed, and resentment grows — especially when migration surges outpace the economy's capacity to absorb new arrivals. Van Onselen and Rizvi are right: if the system continues this way, the consequences are structural, not just statistical.
Politically, short-term incentives may encourage growth in temporary migration, but leadership requires addressing systemic flaws, not exploiting them. Genuine students, skilled workers, and targeted immigration policies benefit Australia most — not loopholes or overstays.
What Needs to Change
Tighten bridging visa rules: Reduce the ability to chain temporary visas indefinitely.
Streamline deportations and reviews: Fix backlogs to prevent limbo populations.
Audit education providers: Ensure courses meet quality and attendance standards.
Prioritise local skills development: Invest in domestic training to reduce reliance on temporary pathways.
Transparent data and oversight: Publish clear statistics so policymakers and voters can hold decision-makers accountable.
Australia's visa system can be a tool for national benefit — or a loophole-driven stressor. Right now, the choice is ours; or rather, the elites, we don't have choices. Ignore the warnings, and the consequences will be more than numbers on a page; they will be structural, social, and economic. Wake up, speak up, and let's ensure the system works for Australians first.
Notice how any reference to the nationals or ethnic groups mainly involved has not been made. Welcome to Australia's race hate laws!https://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2025/11/indians-exploit-australias-visa-system/