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 expert commentary cited by the Department of Home Affairs.

This is no longer a marginal compliance issue. It is a system-wide distortion affecting labour markets, universities, migration integrity, and social cohesion.

Understanding the Policy Failure

Australia’s student visa framework allows limited work rights during study. In principle, this balances education access with labour protections. In practice, policy loopholes, particularly the expanded use of bridging visas, have enabled prolonged stay and unrestricted work rights with minimal academic engagement.

Bridging visas were designed as short-term administrative tools, allowing applicants to remain lawfully in Australia while awaiting visa decisions. Over time, they have evolved into gateways for multi-year work access through delayed processing, appeals, and asylum applications.

Why the System Is Being Exploited

Several interconnected failures explain this outcome:

• High approval rates for public university student visas

• Weak monitoring of enrolment compliance and attendance

• Lengthy processing and tribunal appeal timelines

• Automatic work rights attached to bridging visas

• Minimal enforcement against repeat onshore applications

Together, these settings reward delay rather than compliance. For non-genuine students, time—not educational progress, has become the most valuable asset.

Course-Hopping in Practice

A commonly observed pathway includes:

1. Initial enrolment at a public university with high visa approval rates

2. Early withdrawal or non-completion, with dropout rates exceeding 30% at some institutions

3. Switching to low-cost private colleges, often in hospitality or vocational fields

4. Issuance of a bridging visa with full work rights during long processing periods

5. Tribunal appeals if refused, extending lawful stay further

6. Asylum claims as a final delay mechanism

Each step may be lawful individually. Collectively, they undermine the purpose of the student visa system.

Data, Trends, and Consequences

Between Q3 2019 and Q3 2025, the number of bridging visas increased by more than 201,300, driven overwhelmingly by former international students. By mid-2025, 107,274 former students were on bridging visas—up from just 13,034 in 2023. Over 10% of all international students are now on bridging visas, with median wait times of 28 weeks for course changes and 64 weeks for tribunal appeals.

Analysis from Antipodean Macro shows Indian nationals dominate new bridging visa grants, while experts such as Abul Rizvi and Salvatore Babones warn the system risks creating an insecure migrant underclass, suppressing wages, distorting education markets, and eroding public trust.

Conclusion

Australia’s student visa crisis is not the result of a single policy failure, but of prolonged inaction and misaligned incentives. Without decisive reform prioritising enforcement and integrity over volume and revenue, Australia risks undermining both its education sector and confidence in its migration system.