Australia cracks down on student and backpacker visas to curb migration

Australia will stop foreign students from bringing partners and children to accompany them while they study and tighten working holiday visa rules, a senior minister said on Thursday, amid growing debate over high migration levels.

The government's move comes after the hard-right One Nation party, which has been surging in recent polls, said this week that it would slash the number of temporary migrants by 750,000 over three years, to give Australians "breathing space".

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke dismissed suggestions the changes were politically motivated by the One Nation party, which describes its approach as "Australia first" and whose policies have drawn comparisons to those of US President Donald Trump.

"It's simply demonstrably wrong to suspect that somehow this is a recent bit of work done to deal with a political climate - it's not," Burke told reporters.

The reforms are expected to bring annual net migration down to about 225,000 by 2028 - broadly in line with pre-pandemic levels - from around 300,000 now. The cost of living and immigration have consistently ranked among voters' top concerns in recent polls.

Burke said Australia would toughen its enforcement on visa overstayers, including hiring 100 additional compliance officers and exploring the repurposing of a pandemic-era quarantine facility in Melbourne to house immigration detainees.

"If you want to come on a temporary basis to Australia, apply for a temporary visa. If you want to come to Australia permanently, apply for a permanent visa. And if you no longer have a valid visa, you should leave Australia," he said.

BALLOT FOR BACKPACKERS

Under the new measures, a ballot system will be introduced for backpackers seeking to extend their working holiday visas. All visitor visas will carry a "no further stay" provision preventing holders from remaining in Australia while applying for another visa category such as a partner visa.

International students will only be permitted to renew their student visas if they move up the qualification scale.

Some students from Pacific Island nations and Southeast Asia will be able to bring their partners and children, but secondary applicants will not be allowed on most student visas.

Spouses and partners of international students can currently work in Australia, although the number of hours they are permitted varies depending on the course of study.

International education contributed A$53.6 billion ($38 billion) to the Australian economy in the year to June 2025, making it the country's fourth-largest export. Despite this, foreign students have been a central focus of the centre-left Labor government's migration reduction efforts.

Student visa application fees have risen by nearly 300 per cent to A$2,500 over the past four years, while English-language requirements and minimum savings thresholds for graduate visa applicants have also been tightened. "It is chipping away the confidence in what has been a great national asset for this country – international education," Luke Sheehy, CEO of Universities Australia, said in a radio interview with public broadcaster ABC on the proposed policy shift.

Migration surged after Australia reopened its borders in February 2022 following nearly two years of COVID-19 closures, driven largely by international students, backpackers and temporary workers.

However, numbers have been declining over the past two years. Net overseas migration stood at 306,000 in the year to June 30, 2025, with international students accounting for more than half, down from a peak of 518,000 in 2023.