Australia opposition vows historic immigration cuts

Australia’s conservative opposition coalition has announced a sweeping immigration policy that would significantly reduce temporary and humanitarian migration while giving greater priority to skilled workers.

The Liberal-National Coalition said its plan would cut the number of temporary visas by 650,000 over four years. It also proposes reducing annual net overseas migration to 100,000 for the first two years before gradually increasing the figure.

Opposition Leader Angus Taylor described the proposal as the largest immigration reduction in Australia’s history. He said the policy was aimed at easing pressure on housing, infrastructure, schools and public services.

The plan includes a major reduction in humanitarian visa places, cutting the annual intake by half to 10,000. The coalition also wants to limit international student enrolments to 240,000 and abolish the temporary graduate visa programme, which currently allows eligible international students to remain in Australia after graduation to study or work.

At the same time, the opposition has proposed increasing temporary skilled visas by 100,000. It also plans to speed up the processing of visa applications from construction workers as part of an effort to address labour shortages.

The coalition says Australia’s migration system should focus more heavily on skilled workers rather than temporary migration. Taylor accused the Labor government of moving away from skilled migration and said his party would seek to reverse that trend.

The proposal comes as immigration has become a major political issue amid high living costs and a shortage of affordable housing. The opposition is also facing pressure from One Nation, an anti-immigration party that has called for even larger reductions in temporary migration.

The coalition’s proposed cuts are considerably deeper than those announced by the Labor government, which aims to reduce annual net overseas migration to 225,000 by 2028.

Australia experienced a sharp rise in migration after reopening its borders in 2022 following lengthy COVID-19 restrictions. International students, temporary workers and backpackers contributed significantly to the increase.

Net overseas migration has since started to decline, reaching about 306,000 in the year ending June 2025. Australia’s next federal election is scheduled for 2028.