Australian opposition unveils biggest immigration cut plan, slashing 650,000 temporary visas
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Australia's opposition Liberal and National parties have announced the largest immigration reduction plan in the country's history, preparing to cut temporary and humanitarian visas while shifting policy to prioritise skilled workers. The plan would reduce temporary visas by 650,000 over four years and cut net overseas migration to 100,000 a year in the first two years, or about one third of the current level, before rising to 160,000 in the fourth year. Opposition leader Angus Taylor said the policy would ease pressure on infrastructure, roads, schools and the housing market. Under the proposal, the humanitarian visa quota would be halved to 10,000, international student intake capped at 240,000, and the temporary graduate visa programme abolished. At the same time, the opposition would add 100,000 temporary skilled worker visas and speed up the clearing of a backlog of construction worker visa applications. The proposal is stricter than the Labor government's policy announced last month, which aims to cut net overseas migration to 225,000 a year by 2028. The latest data show Australia recorded net overseas migration of 306,000 in the 12 months to June 2025.