Source : Perth Now news
Australia’s post-study visa system is facing renewed scrutiny, with almost 74,000 family members now attached to temporary graduate visas as the government struggles to bring migration down.
As of June 30 this year, there were 271,191 temporary graduate visa holders in Australia, including 73,897 secondary applicants, meaning family members accounted for close to 30 per cent of people on the visas.
The figures are likely to sharpen attention on student and graduate visa settings, with One Nation leader Pauline Hanson preparing to push for tighter rules around family members accompanying visa holders.
Ms Hanson wants secondary applicants removed from temporary graduate visas and will also call on the Albanese government to stop undergraduate international students from bringing family members with them to Australia.
NCA NewsWire / Jeremy Piper Credit: News Corp Australia
Under current visa settings, international students enrolled in undergraduate or vocational courses can bring immediate family members with them, and those relatives receive the same work rights as the primary visa holder.
After completing their studies, graduates can apply for a temporary graduate visa and their family can remain with them under that arrangement.
The number of people on temporary graduate visas has climbed sharply in recent years. Home Affairs data shows the total rose 174 per cent from June 2022 to June 2026, while the number of secondary applicants increased even faster, jumping 204 per cent from 24,200 to 73,897 over the same period.
That surge reflects the delayed effect of the post-pandemic student intake. After Australia reopened its borders, student visa grants reached more than 577,000 in 2022-23, and many of those students are now finishing their courses and applying to stay in the country.
A government report has also highlighted how often student visas become a pathway to remaining in Australia.
The Centre for Population found that of the 103,000 international students who arrived in 2006-07, fewer than half had left 10 years later.
By 2016-17, 44 per cent had finished studying and returned overseas, 39 per cent had secured permanent residency and 17 per cent were still in Australia on temporary visas.
The size of the international education sector has complicated that debate. The Australian Bureau of Statistics counts it as a roughly $50 billion export because it includes spending by international students on tuition fees and other goods and services.
Critics argue that measure overstates the sector’s value because it does not account for money students earn while working in Australia.
The Reserve Bank estimates international students earned $13.4 billion in 2023-24.
Even with growth easing, the sector remains enormous. In the year to May 2026, 680,582 international students were studying in Australia.
