Australian skilled migration amongst gap students is booming, according to government findings. It is expected that, by the end of fiscal 2007, some 145,000 grants for Australian sponsored visas are expected to be processed – an increase of 10,000 on the previous year.

Residents aged between 18 and 30 from 19 different countries have been attracted to the prospect of an Australian Working Holiday Visa, with the country staking a clear-cut claim as one of the most popular gap-year destinations alongside New Zealand and Fiji.

Tom Griffiths, founder of Gapyear.com, said "We're seeing some really good activity in the Australian market at the moment. The Australian Working Holiday Visa was extended to two years about two years ago, and the message has got through…they had good numbers last year. It was stagnant and falling slowly for about three years and suddenly it's just gone up.”

He added that STA travel has reported record numbers of long haul round-the-world tickets for last year and “Australia is the number on destination”.