The Coalition is poised to announce substantial reductions to immigration today, emphasizing that working holidaymaker slots will be preserved and skill‑based arrivals prioritised in an effort to blunt One Nation’s growing appeal.
Opposition leader Angus Taylor is slated to unveil the policy on Tuesday, following endorsement by Liberal and National MPs in a special party‑room meeting convened this morning.
According to Liberal sources speaking to Guardian Australia, the Coalition’s net overseas migration (NOM) target will sit well below Labor’s newly announced figure, though it will not be as restrictive as One Nation’s proposal to cap net arrivals at 130,000 per year after an initial period of net negative migration.
The Nine newspapers reported that the Coalition intends to cut net migration to roughly 100,000 in the first year after the election, before allowing it to rise to a level between One Nation’s 130,000 ceiling and Labor’s target of 225,000.
As Taylor previously indicated, the intake of new arrivals will be tied to the number of housing completions across Australia.
One Nation announced last month its intention to slash temporary migrant numbers by more than 750,000 over three years, focusing on international students and the family members of skilled workers.
Leaked details of the Coalition’s plan have already ignited a sharp exchange between the two conservative parties, with shadow home‑affairs minister Jonno Duniam claiming that One Nation’s approach would “trash the economy with absolute disregard”.
The Coalition’s proposal is expected to feature its deepest cuts in the inaugural year, aiming to produce an immediate impact on NOM.
The crackdown will target foreign students, visa overstayers, and individuals residing in Australia without a lawful route to remain.
In the previous year Australia granted over 337,000 international student visas, approximately 45,000 of which were issued to dependants or family members of the primary applicant.
Labor’s plan, presented by Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, outlines a series of measures designed to bring NOM down to 245,000 for the current financial year and to 225,000 by 2027‑28.
Under Labor’s proposal, most students would be barred from bringing family members, and the practice known as “visa hopping” would be prohibited, limiting the extent to which students can alter their enrolment.
National Party MPs have warned that Labor’s intention to restrict working holidaymakers to a single year would harm regional sectors such as fruit picking, and they have advocated for carve‑outs to protect those industries.
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Labor plans a ballot for backpackers wanting to stay beyond the initial first year, a measure designed to cut the number of temporary workers in the country. But regional hospitality and agriculture businesses have lobbied the Coalition to avoid cuts to its workforce.
Taylor is under pressure to stop and reverse an exodus of support to One Nation, as the party surpasses the Coalition and Labor in some opinion polls and its leader Pauline Hanson increasingly sets the terms for political and policy debate on immigration.
Hanson accused the opposition of trying to play catch-up with its immigration policy.
“The Coalition has turned up late to the grand final after both teams have headed back to the changerooms, waving a photocopy of One Nation’s immigration policy,” she wrote on X.
Duniam fired back on Tuesday when asked about the comments, accusing the minor party of announcing detail‑light policies.
“[It’s] far from the grand final being over, and it’s hubristic to say the very least to suggest that One Nation are somehow in the top two teams to have won this battle on immigration,” he told News24.
“I look forward to hearing more detail of their policy, particularly as they try and unpick ours, because that’s what I know they’ll do. But again, just another tweet, another X post. That’s how One Nation do business.”
Liberal MP Andrew Wallace confirmed the plan had been modelled to test its effect on the Australian economy.
“You can’t just slash immigration altogether,” he told Channel Nine.
“The Coalition’s plan on migration will be very, very carefully targeted towards ensuring that we have the right number of people coming into the country, but also the right skills.
“We’ve got to ensure that our farmers and our key industries have the right skills to be able to keep the country moving, and that’s what we’ll be focused on.”
One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce, who defected from the Nationals last year, claimed credit for the Coalition plan on Tuesday.
“I don’t want to really rubbish them. I’m really happy that One Nation are moving the agenda, and that’s why they’re all heading off in this direction,” Joyce told 2GB radio.
“They’re chasing their old voters who’ve switched to One Nation.”
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