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International students are set to face tough new restrictions on bringing family members to Australia as Labor unveils a major crackdown on temporary migration and visa-hopping.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke will unveil the long-awaited overhaul at the National Press Club in Canberra on Thursday, with the government aiming to cut net overseas migration to 245,000 in 2026-27 and 225,000 the following year.
His highly anticipated speech is titled 'The work of managing the migration program: Who arrives, who stays, who leaves'.
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who → see → program
Almost 46,000 of the 337,427 student visas granted last financial year went to secondary applicants, including partners and dependent children.
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46,000 → grant → partners
Labor is also preparing to target so-called visa-hopping, where temporary migrants move between student, graduate and other visa classes and remain in Australia for years without securing permanent residency.
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migrants → prepare → residency
The announcement comes more than a month after Burke abruptly cancelled an earlier National Press Club appearance amid cabinet disagreement over the scale and design of the reforms.
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Burke → come → reforms
The government is also examining ways to tackle the huge number of people on bridging visas and speed up the departure of migrants who no longer have a right to remain in Australia.
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who → examine → Australia
More than 400,000 bridging visa applications are in the backlog, much of it involving people who originally entered Australia through the temporary migration system.
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who → bridge → system
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is preparing to unveil a major crackdown on temporary migration and visa-hopping
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Albanese → prepare → migration
The Albanese government aims to slash net overseas migration to 245,000 in 2026-27 and 225,000 the following year
Measures considered by the government have included stripping work rights from people after a protection claim is rejected and speeding up the review process so unsuccessful applicants do not remain in Australia for years while pursuing appeals.
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applicants → aim → appeals
Burke also signalled support for reviving a tougher system used before about 2015 to deal with people who no longer hold a valid visa.
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who → signal → visa
Stronger enforcement measures, including ramped up Australian Border Force field operations, are also expected to be unveiled on Thursday.
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measures → include → Thursday
The additional ABF enforcements could ultimately lead to comparisons with ICE agents in the US.
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enforcements → lead → US
Migrants could also be issued a bridging visa giving them a short period, reported as about two weeks, to leave Australia before facing detention and deportation.
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Migrants → issue → detention
'Before about 2015, Australia had a really simple way of dealing with it.
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Australia → have → it
It was never an ICE-style operation,' Burke told the Sydney Morning Herald.
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Burke → tell → Herald
'Effectively, people who didn't have a visa would be contacted.
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who → have → visa
Analysis of migration data revealed net permanent and long-term arrivals to Australia totalled 494,540 in the 12 months to January 2026
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke unveil Labor's plans at the National Press Club on Thursday
Almost 46,000 of the 337,427 student visas granted last financial year went to secondary applicants, including partners and dependent children
'They'd say, 'OK, we're going to give you a bridging visa for a very brief period of time.
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we → reveal → time
If you don't leave during that time, we'll take you into detention, and you'll be deported.'
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you → leave → detention
'And you just turn over people fairly quickly.'
Changes are already under way elsewhere in the migration system, with skilled visa applicants who are already in Australia being prioritised over people applying from overseas.
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who → turn → people
The shift has pushed some offshore applicants further down the processing queue and is expected to reduce the number of new arrivals in the short term.
Working holiday visas are also being processed more slowly.
The government had considered tougher requirements for British backpackers before Prime Minister Anthony Albanese ruled out changes that could breach Australia's free-trade agreement with the United Kingdom.
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that → push → Kingdom
Burke has acknowledged Labor needs to bring migration down after the post-pandemic surge in arrivals put growing pressure on housing and infrastructure.
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surge → acknowledge → housing
'We do need to get net overseas migration down,' he said.
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he → need → migration
It comes days after One Nation leader Pauline Hanson unveiled plans to cut Australia's temporary migrant population by about 750,000 over three years
'
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Hanson → come → years
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.
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that → need → economy
Burke said one of the government's biggest problems was that large parts of Australia's migration system were demand-driven, leaving ministers with limited control over the number of arrivals.
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parts → say → arrivals
'Since the Hawke and Howard years, a whole lot of our immigration system has been demand-driven, and processing speeds are one of the only things, along with planning levels, we currently have available,' he said.
'The more tools that are available, the better we can target the system.
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we → drive → system
The best outcome will be, if we are able to sort our way through, [to have] a legislative option.
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we → sort → option
In the absence of that, there are still more levers the government will be able to use, and I'll be making those announcements tomorrow.'
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I → be → announcements
Burke has also singled out international student visa-hopping as an area requiring action.
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Burke → single → action
'The challenge that we have is when somebody comes, studies in an area that's not experiencing a skill shortage, then goes to a graduate visa and works in an area that's not experiencing a skill shortage, and then tries to hop around other visa classes and ends up here for a long period of time,' he told the Sydney Morning Herald.
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he → have → Herald
'At no point would Australia have made an active decision saying, 'We want you to be here,' but 15-16 years later, they're living here.
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they → make → decision
'If infrastructure kept up, then that's OK.
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that → keep → ?
If housing kept up, it would all be OK.
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it → keep → ?
You just have business doing what business needs.
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business → have → what
But when we have a gap so significant between housing demand and housing supply ... that means immigration needs to be part of that answer.'
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immigration → have → answer
Australia has recorded a net overseas migration gain of more than 1.4 million people since Labor came to government in May 2022, with temporary visa holders accounting for a significant share of arrivals.
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holders → record → arrivals
There are now more than three million temporary migrants in Australia, while the permanent migration program has been set at 185,000 places for 2026-27.
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program → be → 2026
The rise in popularity of One Nation, which announced its own migration plan on Monday, has increased pressure on Burke to bring down the migrant intake.
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which → announce → intake
One Nation's migration plan would keep the existing working holiday visa intake unchanged while cutting 750,000 student and family visas.
The party wants net overseas migration to fall below zero for three years before settling at 130,000 people a year.
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migration → keep → people
The Coalition is working on a plan to tie net overseas migration to the number of new homes built, currently about 173,000 per year.
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Coalition → work → year
Opposition defence spokesman James Paterson said he was sceptical about Labor's ability to deliver its migration plan.
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he → say → plan
…and 2 more, not listed.
The Aporia
