Australia's opposition vows 'biggest cut to immigration' in the country's history

Australia’s conservative opposition has proposed the largest cut to immigration in the country’s history, slashing temporary and humanitarian visas while prioritising skilled workers, Reuters reports.

The Liberal-National Coalition’s migration policy would cut temporary visas by 650,000 over four years and bring annual net overseas migration down to 100,000 for two years — roughly one-third of its current rate, rising to 160,000 in year four.

“What we are proposing today is the biggest cut to immigration in the history of this country,” Opposition Leader Angus Taylor told a press conference on Tuesday. “It will be putting Australia first and it will be putting our national interest first.”

Under the plan, humanitarian visa places would be halved to 10,000, international student enrolment would be cut to 240,000, and the temporary graduate visa that lets students stay on after their studies would be abolished. The Coalition also pledged to increase temporary skilled visas by 100,000 and clear a backlog of construction worker visa applications.

The proposal comes amid growing anti-immigration sentiment driven by high living costs and housing shortages, and under pressure from the far-right One Nation party, which has outpolled the Coalition and pledged a 750,000 cut over three years.

It goes further than the centre-left Labor government’s cuts proposed last month, which aim to bring annual net migration down to 225,000 by 2028. Net overseas migration stood at 306,000 in the year to June 30, 2025. Australia’s next general election is not due until 2028.

Sources: Reuters