Australian opposition leader Angus Taylor has set out a migration plan that would reduce net overseas migration to 100,000 people a year for its first two years in office. The figure would rise to 130,000 in the third year and 160,000 in the fourth. These are Coalition proposals, not changes to Australia’s current visa rules.
The Liberals and Nationals also aim to reduce the number of temporary visa holders by about 650,000 over four years. That figure describes a proposed reduction in the total number of holders over time. It does not mean 650,000 visas have been cancelled. The Coalition says it would retain a permanent skilled migration programme capped at 185,000 places annually.
For prospective international students, the Coalition’s published plan proposes limiting new student commencements to 240,000, restricting most applications by students’ family members and abolishing Temporary Graduate visas. It says students completing PhDs, studying health or education, or attending regional universities would still have access to transitional visas after study.
The plan would also require most people seeking a second or subsequent temporary visa to apply from outside Australia, with an exception for eligible working holidaymakers. Family reunion visas would remain unchanged under the proposal. Anyone planning an application should therefore check the rules currently in force rather than treat the opposition’s announcement as an immediate change.
Taylor argues that lower migration would ease pressure on housing and services while preserving routes for workers with needed skills. Labor figures have challenged the scale of the cuts, warning of consequences for the economy and essential services, according to The Guardian’s reporting. The effects remain contested because the plan has not been implemented.
