Labor relaunches international student Ponzi scheme

Wednesday 6 August 2025

The latest data from the Departments of Home Affairs and Education indicates that the Albanese government’s “crackdown” on the international education sector has had minimal impact.

The Department of Home Affairs’ temporary visa data for Q2 2025 shows that there were 821,251 people residing in Australia on either a student or a graduate visa.

This figure was only 3,505 fewer than the all-time peak in Q2 2024 and up a whopping 165,702 on the pre-pandemic peak of 655,549.

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About the author

Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.