Angus Taylor proposes cutting Australia’s net migration to 100,000
Australia’s opposition Coalition proposes annual net migration of 100,000 during its first two years in government. Angus Taylor’s plan would change student, graduate and repeat visa applications and halve the humanitarian intake. The proposals depend on an election victory, with detailed costings promised closer to the 2028 federal poll rather than released alongside the announcement.
Geopolitics··Midday
Coalition targets 100,000 in its first two years
Australian opposition leader Angus Taylor unveiled a Coalition migration programme on 6 October that would target annual net overseas migration of 100,000 during its first two years in office. Implementation depends on winning government. The proposal sets a lower target than the current government’s plans and forms part of the opposition’s platform for the next federal election.[1], [2]
The proposal sets targets of 130,000 for the third year and 160,000 for the fourth. The current government is targeting 245,000 this financial year and 225,000 in the following year. Taylor’s programme also aims to reduce the number of temporary visa holders by approximately 650,000 over a four-year period.[1]
Coalition proposes student and graduate visa restrictions
The Coalition proposes removing most temporary graduate visas, limiting international student commencements to 240,000 and restricting students’ ability to bring family members. Exceptions would remain for doctoral, health and education graduates and for students at regional universities. The proposed visa changes would therefore reach beyond the overall migration target to alter particular routes for remaining in Australia.[1]
Most people making a second or subsequent temporary visa application would have to lodge it outside Australia. The programme would halve the annual humanitarian intake to 10,000 and impose a 30-day deadline for asylum applications made within the country. At the same time, the Coalition proposes 15,000 additional skilled project visas annually, prioritising construction skills and regional employers’ needs.[1]
Costings promised closer to the election
Taylor argues that changing the composition of migration could offset the budget impact. The Coalition has not published modelling of the wider economic consequences. It says detailed costings will be released closer to the 2028 federal election, leaving its financial calculations to a later stage than the announcement of the migration and visa targets.[1]
Pauline Hanson, leader of the One Nation party, criticised the plan as copying her party’s approach. The government and opposition parties are advancing different targets and visa rules in the migration debate. For migrants, students and humanitarian applicants, Taylor’s announcement describes an election-dependent policy proposal; the existing legal framework continues while the parties contest which programme voters should support.[1]
