International students, so-called visa holders and tourists will be subject to stricter rules announced by Australia on Thursday in a bid to curb immigration.
International students will no longer be able to bring their families with them, and those who want to extend their stay must choose a higher qualification.
The rules will also be stricter for work holiday visas, which are typically used by tourists and are an important source of labor for the farming sector, with a voting system in place, although the changes will not affect the UK.
The new rules were revealed by Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, who said that while immigration was Australia’s “strength”, a “high level of scrutiny” was needed.
Regarding international student and graduate visas, Burke said, “We will no longer be increasing the number of students who will automatically be able to bring family members.”
He said there would be exceptions for international students already in Australia, as well as applicants from the Pacific Rim and South-East Asia.
Graduate students will also be able to bring their families in different life circumstances with the students, Burke said.
In his speech, titled “The work of managing the migration program: who comes, who stays, who leaves,” Burke outlined a host of changes as the government aims to reach 225,000 net overseas migration by 2028.
On student visas, he said the Government would crack down on “bridge visas” – where a student completes a course and then applies to take another course, which is often of a lower qualification and sometimes from a “not-so-legitimate provider”.
Students who want to move up the scale will be admitted, Burke said, such as if a student completes a bachelor’s degree and then wants to pursue a master’s degree.
He also announced major changes to work holiday visas for people aged 18 to 30, which can work in Australia for 12 months but can extend for a second and third year.
Currently, these visa holders must work three months in regional Australia in the first year to qualify for the second year, and then six months to qualify for the third year.
Under the new changes, those eligible for a second year will have to go through the ballot, with a cap of 45,000, down from the 57,000 who qualified last year.
In the third year, the number of votes will be limited to 5,000, down from the 31,000 who qualified last year. These changes will not affect British working holidaymakers thanks to the UK-Australia free trade agreement.
New data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Thursday showed Australia’s population grew by 1.4% in the 12 months to March 2026 to 27.9 million.
This total included births and deaths, as well as net overseas migration of 292,100.
Migration remains a major policy issue as debate over Australia’s population grows amid rising costs of living, housing affordability and increasing pressure on public services.
One Nation, a populist right-wing party known for its anti-immigration stance and whose support has surged in recent months, detailed its migration policy earlier this week, proposing to cut the number of temporary visas for migrants by 750,000 over three years.
The party, which won its first lower house seat in May, also wants to cap net overseas immigration to 130,000, prompting a rebuke from Burke, who said such a proposal could “destroy part of the Australian economy”.
In July, the government introduced a policy of prioritizing family visa applications made onshore (where the applicant is already in the country) over those made overseas.
Skilled migrants already in Australia who were applying for a permanent visa were also given priority over those applying from overseas.
It also suspended applications for work holiday visas from 24 countries, not including the UK.
Violet Roumeliotis of Settlement Services International, which helps new arrivals to Australia, says the migration debate is increasingly driven by “short-term politics rather than what’s best for the country”.
“The proposed changes to family visas for international students are a good example of this,” she said, adding it would make it harder for Australia to compete for “future talent”.
