ABC News (AU)
· collected 2026-09-16 · by Clare Armstrong and Jane Norman
In short:
The federal government will tighten temporary visa rules in a bid to reduce net overseas migration to 225,000 people by 2028.
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government → tighten → 2028
Labor is turning to regulatory changes to achieve the target after talks with the Coalition over stronger legislation broke down.
What's next?
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What → turn → legislation
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke will unveil details of the temporary visa changes in a National Press Club address on Thursday.
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Burke → unveil → Thursday
Labor will rely on tighter rules for temporary visas to reduce Australia's net overseas migration rather than seek support for new laws to achieve its target.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke will use an address at the National Press Club (NPC) on Thursday to unveil long-awaited measures that target temporary migrants seeking to bring family members to Australia, switch visas or extend their stay.
The overhaul will be pursued through regulation — including changes to visa conditions and application processes — as the federal government has no clear path to pass stronger legislation after compromise talks with the Coalition broke down.
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talks → rely → Coalition
In a speech titled "The work of managing the migration program: who arrives, who stays, who leaves", Mr Burke will outline how the government plans to meet its target of reducing net overseas migration from about 300,000 now to 225,000 by 2028.
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government → title → 2028
Mr Burke had intended to announce the policy six weeks ago but was forced to abruptly postpone his address amid disagreement between ministers weighing competing priorities.
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Burke → intend → priorities
The ABC reported on Wednesday that the policy would include an effective ban on international students bringing family members to Australia.
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policy → report → Australia
While international student numbers are expected to be left untouched, the ABC has been told they will effectively lose the ability to bring their families to Australia under the crackdown.
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they → expect → crackdown
Last financial year, 337,427 student visas were granted, and of those, 45,991 were secondary applicants, classed as dependents or family.
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45,991 → grant → dependents
Burke says legislation would have been 'better' option
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Angus Taylor met twice last week as Labor sought potential support for its immigration reforms.
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Labor → say → reforms
The government had hoped to pass legislation that would restrict the amount of time people had to make onshore asylum claims and limit international students' right of appeal to remain in Australia.
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people → hop → Australia
But talks stalled after the Coalition presented a list of demands including tougher restrictions on so-called ISIS brides and linking migration to housing completions.
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Coalition → stall → completions
Having effectively dealt itself out of the reforms, Coalition figures have since argued the government already has sufficient powers to curb migration through regulation.
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government → deal → regulation
During Question Time on Wednesday, Mr Burke said the "best" outcome would have been to tackle migration through legislation.
"In the absence of that, there are still more levers the government will be able to use," he said.
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he → say → that
Labor accused of 'starving' regions
Under pressure to reduce overseas arrivals, Mr Burke has already made sweeping changes to the migration system, pausing or slowing down the processing of working holiday maker visas in July, and re-prioritising the processing of skilled visas.
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Burke → accuse → visas
The changes, under Ministerial Direction 119, mean any worker applying for a skilled visa from overseas is now at the back of the queue, pushing visa wait times from days to over a year in some cases.
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worker → mean → cases
Asked by Indi MP Helen Haines about the "go slow" on working holiday visas hurting regional Australia, Mr Burke told parliament the government needed to get net overseas migration "down".
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government → ask → migration
"We need to make sure that we deal with the numbers overall and do so in a sensible, targeted way that provides the easiest pathway through for the Australian economy," he said.
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he → need → economy
Ahead of Mr Burke's NPC speech, One Nation leader Pauline Hanson released a statement also accusing Labor of "starving" regional Australia of labour and tourists.
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Hanson → release → labour
"The government would rather destroy industries in regional Australia than face the problem of unskilled arrivals and students head on," she said.
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she → destroy → arrivals
One Nation and Coalition poised to critique Labor
Senator Hanson pre-emptively criticised Labor's migration proposal on the grounds that the government's net overseas migration forecasts, if reached, meant an extra one million people in Australia over the next four years.
One Nation this week announced it would cut the number of visas by 750,000 over three years, which would result in net negative migration.
The proposal targeting international students and the families of skilled migrants has been criticised by the Coalition and Labor, with Environment Minister Murray Watt arguing it would "probably drive the Australian economy into recession".
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it → poise → recession
The opposition is finalising its own migration proposal, which Shadow Home Affairs Minister Jonno Duniam has indicated would be released in the coming weeks.
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Duniam → finalise → weeks
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