A steep decline in new international students is doing little to dent the number of temporary migrants in the country, with a spike of 100,000 in less than 12 months putting Labor’s plan to significantly reduce overseas arrivals increasingly out of reach.

Official figures show the number of international students has reached its highest level ever – 679,293 at the end of August – as have temporary graduate visas. This is despite a fall in new student visas, with 55,000 issued in July and August, compared with 68,000 in the same period last year.