The federal opposition has published a migration policy that would cut Australia's temporary migration intake by about 650,000 over four years, close most temporary graduate visas and set net overseas migration at 100,000 for the first two years of a Coalition government. ABC News reported that Opposition Leader Angus Taylor unveiled the plan on Tuesday, calling it the "biggest cut to immigration in this country's history".
Under the plan, net overseas migration would be held at 100,000 for two years, then 130,000 in the third year and 160,000 in the fourth, the ABC reported. Net overseas migration was 292,100 in the year to March. Mr Taylor said Australia needed "breathing space" after several record years of migration since the pandemic, and that "Australia should be a home, not a hotel". He said he was "confident" the policy would be budget "neutral" but did not release modelling of the broader economic impact, with costings promised closer to the 2028 federal election. Labor's target for this financial year, set out when Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke announced his package in September, is higher than the Coalition's proposed 100,000.
Graduate visas
The temporary graduate visa would be scrapped except for limited post-study pathways for PhD, health and education graduates and for graduates of regional universities, according to the ABC. International student commencements would be capped at 240,000, most dependants would be restricted from accompanying students, and each student visa would be tied to the institution the student enrolled with. The dependant change sits alongside the government's own student visa rules that took effect this month, which EOI Insights reported on 3 October.
The policy would increase the share of skilled migration, with about 60,000 more temporary skilled visa holders and 15,000 new skilled project visas a year for major projects. The talent and innovation allocation would double to 7,000 through a new AUKUS and Five Eyes visa, and permanent applicants would be prioritised on factors including age, income, English language proficiency and skilled partners. The temporary skilled priority list would be changed to fast track construction and to prioritise employer-sponsored migration in regional Australia. Mr Taylor told the ABC the economics were "simple", saying a student or temporary graduate visa holder contributed on average $7,000 to $14,000 in taxes compared with more than $30,000 for a temporary skilled visa holder. "If you bring people in who can make a … significant contribution and they're going to work hard, then it's better for the budget and the economy," he said.
Bridging, refugee and seasonal visas
The largest reduction in the ABC's account is to bridging visas, which would fall from about 414,000 to 20,000 by requiring temporary visa holders to leave Australia if they want to apply for a new visa. Anyone making a second or subsequent temporary visa application would generally have to leave Australia and lodge offshore, and the Coalition would impose a 30-day limit for onshore asylum claims. The humanitarian intake would be halved to 10,000 a year. Labor's caps on second and third-year working holiday maker visa extensions would be scrapped and fees increased, with exemptions for holders who completed required regional work.
Mr Taylor later told the ABC's 7:30 program that aged care workers would be affected, and that there would be "transition exemptions" for health workers in the regions. "We recognise there's particular sectors of need. One of those is healthcare, including aged care, and that's why we've made special exemptions and transition allowances for that," he said.
A three-way contest
The Sydney Morning Herald reported the announcement as a three-way migration battle, with Labor and One Nation responding. One Nation has announced it would cut 750,000 temporary visas, pushing net overseas migration into negative territory for three years before an intake of 130,000 in the fourth year, according to the ABC. Nationals leader Matt Canavan described the Coalition measures as a plan to "take back our country" from temporary migrants. The ABC reported the cuts would initially bring migration to its lowest level outside the pandemic since 2004. The Herald published an editorial the same day arguing that immigration is set to be a battleground issue at the next election.
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