The Parasitiformes of Australia, particularly the largest order, Mesostigmata, are reviewed in respect to invasive species. Unlike other studies of invasive invertebrates, which often focus on phytophagous groups, the Parasitiformes comprises mostly terrestrial predatory mites, some of which are phoretic, plus several radiations of vertebrate and invertebrate parasites. Among the 72 species of ticks recorded in Australia, five are invasive. Among the 874 species of Mesostigmata known from Australia, we consider 78 species as non-native and another 16 species as likely non-natives. Not surprisingly, these mites are primarily from Europe and North America where they occupy agricultural and urban ecosystems. A significant portion of non-native species (30 spp.) are part of the community of mites found in soil, stored products and nests, and were probably moved to Australia via shipping during the first century of European colonisation. Another 11 non-native species are parasitic on vertebrates, 10 species are part of the phoretic mite community associated with ungulate dung, and another 10 species are phoretic on various insects – again, most are likely early arrivals with the transport of livestock, pets or in debris. The 14 non-native species of Phytoseiidae are much more recent arrivals, either as legal or smuggled introductions to Australia for use in agriculture. Likewise, two of the three invertebrate parasites, both on Apis mellifera (i.e. Varroa destructor and Melittiphis alvearius), may have arrived through unregulated pathways. Patterns of detection correlate closely with taxonomic effort. All past detections were published by professional acarologists or their students; thus, the precipitous decline in detections correlates well with Australia’s taxonomic neglect of acarology: in the last five years, just four species of Mesostigmata have been described from Australia – all as unfunded projects – and no Gamasina were described in the past decade. This is despite Australia having a rough estimate of 10,000-20,000 undescribed species of Mesostigmata. Not only is Australia blind to detecting incursions of Mesostigmata, but we have no idea on the impact of these mites on native ecosystems, many of which are generalist predators.