More than 100,000 people with rejected asylum seeker applications have stayed in Australia, many of whom are now undocumented workers, in a sign of the government’s ongoing struggle to make people leave the country once their visa claims are ruled invalid.

The record number was reached in August and has grown by 15,000 in the past year, despite attempts to clamp down on exploitation of the protection visa scheme that exists for people fleeing persecution. Just 14 per cent of asylum claims the Home Affairs Department processed last financial year were deemed to be legitimate.

Experts have for years warned that wait times for protection claims have created a loophole that allows people whose temporary visas have expired to keep working in Australia by applying for asylum and then enter

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