Australia’s Student Visa System Under Strain: Bridging Visas and Policy Gaps
Australia’s international student system is under growing strain as bridging visas surge, with the Australia Bridging Visa increasingly used by non-genuine applicants as study pathways expand beyond their original intent. Course-hopping, weak enforcement, and delayed reforms have transformed education visas into a de facto low-cost labour channel, threatening migration integrity, wages, and social cohesion. Australia’s Student Visa Crisis: A System Under Pressure Australia’s international education model, once regarded as a global benchmark, is facing one of its most serious credibility challenges. Rising numbers of former students remaining on an Australia Bridging Visa , increasing asylum claims, and widespread course-hopping expose deep structural weaknesses that successive governments have failed to address. What was intended as a temporary education pathway is now increasingly functioning as a long-term work access mechanism, as highlighted by official reporting and...
