The federal government will crack down on student visas and 'visa hopping' while making it easier for highly skilled migrants to work in Australia, as part of a major overhaul to fix the 'broken' migration system.
The government will publish its long-awaited migration strategy on Monday, outlining plans to break down barriers for highly skilled migrants, properly regulate lower-paid migration and prevent system exploitation.
After a lull during the Covid-19 pandemic, net migration last fiscal year peaked at more than 500,000 people – the highest in history – fueled by international students who accounted for more than half of those arrivals.
The crackdown comes after a new poll found almost two-thirds of Aussies want Anthony Albanese's government to reduce migration after numbers soared since the end of the pandemic.
The Resolve Political Monitor for Nine newspapers found that 62 percent of voters said the migration influx – expected to exceed 500,000 this year – is too high.
Labor has announced a review of Australia's immigration process after more than 500,000 migrants entered the country in the last financial year, the highest number in history (stock image)
Australia's net overseas migration rate was on track to reach 440,000 in 2023-2024, but 25 new policy commitments and areas for future reforms to be unveiled on Monday will slow that to a more sustainable 375,000, the Daily Telegraph reported.
This week's mid-year economic update will show this figure slowing further to 235,000 in 2026-2027.
Home Secretary Clare O'Neil said the record migration rate was partly due to catching up after the Covid-19 crisis, but also due to the system Labor inherited which “leads to loopholes and failures in international education has led,” noting that student visa denials had tripled in 2022-2023.
“The government's targeted reforms are already putting downward pressure on net overseas migration and will further contribute to this expected decline,” she said.
“Having inherited a Coalition immigration system, we have worked around the clock to find the best balance in Australia's migration system.
“If we were to retain the institutions we inherited from the Coalition, we would not expect to see the same declines in migration levels this financial year and next year.”
The revision will dramatically reduce the number of student visas used as a gateway for work visas, by removing English requirements for international students and graduates.
There will also be more and more targeted supervision of student visa applications.
Until now, there has been a 'no questions asked' policy regarding student visas in the past, but prospective students will now have to explain why they want to come to Australia to study, and how that will benefit them and the country.
Education Minister Jason Clare said the strategy “sends a clear message that we will act to prevent the exploitation of students and protect Australia's reputation as a high-quality international education provider.”
There will also be an overhaul of the system's institutions to reduce 'permanent temporality' by shortening graduate visas and ending visa hopping on land.
The government will also increase the income threshold for temporary skilled migration to $70,000 and index it annually.
This will close pathways for students who transition to work but do not meet the minimum salary requirements within two years.
The government's strategy includes turning away from low-skilled workers and students and towards high-skilled workers in sectors facing labor shortages (stock image)
At the same time, the government's strategy will reduce barriers to highly skilled migrants creating jobs.
The government promised that companies would get seven-day approvals for visas for migrants skilled in sectors facing labor shortages.
There will also be streamlined labor market tests and new support for start-ups to get the workers they need.
The strategy will also create a new talent and innovation visa.
Ms O'Neil said the changes will help Australia gain the skills it needs, especially in healthcare, the digital economy and the jobs needs for the net-zero transition.
More broadly, she said the strategy is “all about making migration work for the country.”
“Including putting the right conditions in place to alleviate the labor shortages that are holding our country back, without putting undue pressure on other parts of our country,” she said.
“We will always put the interests of Australians first, and that is what people will see in the migration strategy.”
The strategy follows the Parkinson's review published earlier this year, which found the visa system was 'so seriously broken' and that a 'deliberate decision had been made to neglect the system'.
The release of the government's strategy comes after a new poll found almost two-thirds of Aussies want Anthony Albanese's government to reduce migration (pictured, Clare O'Neill)
On Saturday, Anthony Albanese promised to fix the system and return migration to a “sustainable level.” However, he could not find out whether the government had a target for net overseas migration.
“We have a plan to solve migration by ensuring Australia can get the skilled workers Australia needs, by ending all abuse and misconduct,” the Prime Minister said.
'The new migration strategy will return migration to a sustainable level.'
Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the migration strategy aims to ensure Australia has a “better calibrated, better targeted migration system that delivers results in our national economic interest”.
“A lot of work and thought has gone into the policies that Clare O'Neil will announce tomorrow,” he said on Sunday.
“We want to better target our migration system so that it benefits our national economic interests, and that is what the immigration strategy will be about.”
The strategy follows a range of other measures already taken by the government, including closing Covid-19 concessions by ending the Pandemic Event visa and unlimited working hours of international students, and tackling the exploitation of the visa system.