The Department of Home Affairs released temporary visa data for Q4 2024, revealing 2,250,000 temporary visa holders in Australia, excluding visitors, at the end of 2024.
This was a record for the December quarter, representing a 116,000 increase over the same period in 2023. There were also roughly 470,000 more temporary visas in Australia than in Q4 2019, before the pandemic.
India has led the spike in temporary migration since the pandemic began. There were 277,200 Indians on temporary visas in Q4 2024 (excluding visitors), up from 188,600 in Q4 2019.
Chart by Justin Fabo from Antipodean Macro
Turning to the individual visa classes, there were 522,183 student visas on issue in Q4 2024, down around 25,000 from Q4 2023.
Graduate visas reached a record high of 195,300 in Q4 2024, up around 15,000 from the previous year and more than double pre-Covid levels.
There were 249,300 temporary employment visas on issue as of Q4 2024, down around 58,000 from the previous year.
Working holiday visas reached a new high of 206,200 in Q4 2024, up around 36,000 from the previous year.
Finally, 342,500 temporary bridging visas were on issue in Q4 2024, a 131,000 increase from the previous year.
According to Justin Fabo’s following chart, bridging visas have seen the most growth in temporary visas since Q4 2019, up by 151,000.
Fabo’s next chart compares the various temporary visa streams in quarterly, seasonally adjusted terms.
Even though student visas have peaked, the increase in bridging visas, which is driven by former students refusing to leave Australia and seeking asylum or challenging visa rejection decisions, has more than offset the fall.
This increase in bridging visas undermines the federal government’s crackdown on fraudulent students while also clogging the appeals process.
