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The federal government will look to tighten temporary visa rules, aiming to minimise net overseas migration to 225,000 people by 2028. Here’s what those changes mean, both for clients and the broader community.
The Albanese government has committed to attracting the skills Australia needs, assisting economic growth and productivity, and making sure that migration settings work for Australian workers and communities.
The next stage of migration policy alterations is designed to deliver the net overseas migration forecasts in the budget of 245,000 in this financial year and 225,000 in 2027–28.
In a recent statement, the government aims to strengthen visa integrity and compliance by implementing mandatory “no further stay” conditions on visitor visas, preventing student “visa hopping”, and deporting individuals without valid visas.
Under updated ministerial directions, priority will be given to skilled visa applications in key industries such as healthcare and construction.
Concurrently, authority will be expanded to allow the deportation of visa holders implicated in domestic violence, hate speech, or offences targeting children.
In response to this, legal bodies and experts have raised concerns, indicating that particular groups will be impacted more than others.
Key migration changes and impacts
Migration lawyer expert Perry Q Wood, managing partner at Australian Migration Lawyers and partner at Hugo Law Group, indicated that the proposed changes could reshape how Australia values different forms of skilled qualifications.
“Giving trade qualifications the same points weighting as university degrees is a structural change to how the skilled points test values different kinds of qualifications,” Wood said.
Wood, who won the Managing Partner of the Year category at the 2026 Australian Law Awards, also noted that family access will be affected by stricter rules surrounding student and graduate visas.
“It removes the automatic pathway for family members to attach to new student and graduate visa applications, with some exemptions carved out for Pacific and ASEAN countries and certain courses.
“It’s the kind of change where the exemption list will end up mattering as much as the headline rule,” he said.
Regarding working holiday visas, Wood recognised that the changes to working holiday visas potentially could have significant implications for both applicants and employers.
“The regional second- and third-year visa numbers have been reduced substantially – the third year alone goes from 31,000 places to 5,000,” Wood said.
“Attaching a ‘no further stay’ condition to visitor visas more broadly aligns the treatment of different visitor cohorts.
“It will affect the option some applicants currently have of entering as a visitor and then applying for a bridging visa onshore.”
Wood also mentioned that proposed measures targeting protection visa applications also place larger scrutiny on migration agents.
“The government has pointed to caseload data showing a high proportion of protection applications come from countries with high refusal rates, and it’s proposing stronger sanctions for agents who advise non-meritorious claims,” Wood said.
‘Deserves safety and dignity’
In a statement, Women’s Legal Services Australia recommended that the government should focus on creating new laws that ultimately encourage inclusion, safety and fairness for all people who consider Australia their home.
The organisation highlighted that every woman experiencing any kind of violence should be able to reach out for protection without being placed at a larger risk due to her immigration status.
“No person experiencing family violence should face additional barriers to safety and recovery because of their visa status; women on temporary visas deserve an equal chance to find safety, access support and stay safe,” the statement said.
“Women’s Legal Services Australia calls on the Australian government not to proceed with reforms that will make people on temporary visas more vulnerable to exploitation and abuse and to instead focus on reforms that promote the safety and dignity of all, regardless of visa status.”
For women facing gender-based violence, the statement alluded to the fact that immigration status should not determine whether they can have access to protection.
“Some women experiencing gender-based violence may be denied an equal chance to find safety and stay safe because of their visa status,” it said.
With statistics demonstrating that women are already vulnerable due to family violence, the organisation stressed that such policies may increase fear around detention or deportation, which can result in access to safety seemingly more difficult.
“The government’s proposed reforms, with a focus on detention and deportation, risk making it even harder for women living in Australia on temporary visas trying to escape and recover from gendered violence,” it said.
