Australia will bar foreign students from bringing partners and children with them while studying, and will introduce stricter rules for working holiday visas, a senior government minister announced Thursday, as debate over migration levels intensifies nationwide.
The announcement follows a call this week from the hard-right One Nation party which has been gaining ground in opinion polls to cut temporary migrant numbers by 750,000 over three years in order to give Australians “breathing space.”
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke rejected claims that the reforms were driven by political pressure from One Nation, a party that brands its platform “Australia first” and whose positions have drawn comparisons to those of US President Donald Trump. Burke told reporters it was simply incorrect to suggest the changes were a recent response to shifting political winds, insisting the work had been underway well before now.
The reforms aim to bring annual net migration down to roughly 225,000 by 2028, close to pre-pandemic levels from approximately 300,000 currently. Cost of living and immigration have consistently ranked among the top concerns for voters in recent surveys.
A lottery for backpackers
Under the new rules, backpackers seeking to extend their working holiday visas will be subject to a ballot system. Additionally, all visitor visas will now include a “no further stay” condition, preventing holders from remaining in Australia to apply for a different visa category, such as a partner visa.
International students will only be able to renew their student visas if they progress to a higher qualification level. While students from some Pacific Island nations and Southeast Asian countries will retain the ability to bring partners and children, most student visa holders will no longer be permitted to include secondary applicants. Currently, spouses and partners of international students are allowed to work in Australia, though permitted hours vary by course of study.
International education generated A$53.6 billion (roughly $38 billion) for Australia’s economy in the year to June 2025, ranking it as the country’s fourth-largest export sector. Despite this economic contribution, foreign students have remained a key target of the centre-left Labor government’s efforts to reduce migration numbers. Over the past four years, student visa application fees have climbed nearly 300% to A$2,500, while English-language proficiency requirements and minimum savings thresholds for graduate visa applicants have also been raised.
Migration numbers surged after Australia reopened its borders in February 2022, following nearly two years of pandemic-related closures, with international students, backpackers, and temporary workers driving much of that growth. However, the trend has been reversing over the past two years — net overseas migration reached 306,000 in the year ending June 30, 2025, with international students making up more than half that figure, down from a peak of 518,000 in 2023.
