Immigration Claims Debunked: Australia’s Construction Worker Intake Far Exceeds Yoga Instructors

Recent claims that the Albanese government has prioritized yoga instructors over construction workers in its immigration program have been conclusively disproven by official data from the Department of Home Affairs.

Liberal Senator Andrew Bragg made the assertion twice during an ABC Newcastle interview on October 15, claiming that “We’ve brought in more yoga teachers than construction workers under this government.” The senator repeated similar claims in another ABC interview on October 1, as part of broader criticism of the government’s housing policies.

When pressed for evidence, Senator Bragg’s office attempted to reframe the claim by arguing that yoga teachers represented a larger percentage increase to their overall workforce compared to construction workers. They suggested that 69 yoga teachers had entered Australia in 2023/24, representing a 1.4 percent increase to an estimated workforce of 5,000, while 11,349 construction workers represented only a 0.8 percent increase to their sector’s 1.33 million workers.

However, official Department of Home Affairs data tells a dramatically different story. A spokesperson confirmed that yoga instructors became eligible for temporary skilled visas in late 2022 under an economic and trade agreement with India signed during the Morrison government. Importantly, only Indian nationals can apply for these visas under the “Other Sports Coaches and Instructors” occupation category.

The department’s records show “less than five” Indian nationals were granted visas in this category – and these might include other sports coaches beyond yoga instructors. For privacy reasons, exact numbers are withheld when totals are this low. Moreover, this small number of visas was only granted in the 2023/24 period, with zero such visas issued in 2022/23 or 2024/25.

In stark contrast, the construction sector has seen massive immigration numbers under the Albanese government. Department data reveals 10,589 visas granted to construction workers in 2022/23, followed by 11,349 in 2023/24, and 15,524 in 2024/25 – totaling 37,462 visas across all construction-related categories.

Even when narrowing the focus to occupations most directly involved in residential construction, the numbers remain overwhelming. Specifically, 12,223 skilled visas were granted to construction trades workers between 2022/23 and 2024/25, with an additional 2,508 visas issued to construction managers during the same period.

The immigration data undermines claims about the government’s priorities in addressing housing shortages. While Senator Bragg correctly identified builder shortages as a factor in housing undersupply, his assertion about immigration patterns is demonstrably false according to official records.

This discrepancy highlights the importance of fact-checking claims made during policy debates, particularly when they involve specific numerical assertions about government programs. The housing crisis remains a complex challenge requiring nuanced discussion of multiple factors including labor shortages, material costs, regulatory hurdles, and immigration policies.

The yoga instructor claim appears to be part of a broader political narrative, as other coalition members have made similar statements in recent months. The significant disparity between the claim and reality – at most four yoga instructors versus tens of thousands of construction workers – raises questions about the due diligence applied to such political messaging.

As Australia continues to grapple with housing affordability and supply challenges, accurate representation of immigration data and workforce trends remains essential for productive policy discussions and solutions.