How will backpackers be impacted by Australian migration changes? What Tony Burke’s announcement means
International students, working holiday-makers and skilled migrants will all be affected by sweeping changes to Australia's migration policy.
WHAT’S HAPPENING WITH MIGRATION?
- International students and those on graduate visas will no longer be allowed to bring family members with them to Australia, with some exceptions including for PhD students
- Only 45,000 working holiday-makers will be able to stay in Australia for a second year, and only 5000 for a third year - down from 57,000 and 31,000 respectively, but a slow-down to the processing of those visas will end for everyone except British citizens
- Migrants coming to work in construction, farming, fisheries, mining and teaching will be prioritised
- Only foreign students transferring to higher-level courses (bachelor’s to master’s for example) will be able to extend their visas
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.- People who overstay their visa, of which there are about 77,000, will be sent to detention centres, with the government now on the hunt for more facilities, compliance officers and beds
- The points test, which determines which skilled migrants come to Australia, will be revamped to consider construction-related qualifications as equivalent to university degrees
- Powers to punish and de-register dodgy migration agents, who help foreigners get Australian visas, will expand
WHY THE CHANGES?
- The government is trying to bring Australia’s population growth due to migration down from 292,100 to 245,000 in the year to July 2027 and 225,000 each year thereafter, and to curb visa-hopping, “rorting” and “gaming” the system
- That figure has stubbornly exceeded Labor’s forecasts since the party came to power in 2022, but Immigration Minister Tony Burke said migration was now tracking in line with its targets
- The coalition believes the figure should descend to 170,000 in line with housing construction, and One Nation wants a 130,000-person a year cap
HOW ARE THEY BEING IMPLEMENTED?
- The changes may not be law because negotiations between Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Angus Taylor broke down in the week before Mr Burke’s address, dooming hope of getting reforms through the Senate
- Without parliament’s approval, the government cannot proceed with a desired crackdown on phoney asylum-seekers’ claims
- But Mr Burke insisted negotiations with the coalition were ongoing and productive, and said “we have put nothing forward that is a wedge to them”.
