IN BRIEF
- Angus Taylor has outlined a tougher approach to migration, targeting screening, values and enforcement.
- The proposal has been met with strong criticism from Labor, the Greens and human rights groups.
A proposed Coalition immigration overhaul has been criticised by Labor and the Greens as a desperate and divisive reaction to rising One Nation support, with a Greens senator accusing the Coalition of reviving elements of the White Australia policy.
Opposition leader Angus Taylor used his first major policy speech on Tuesday to argue Australia's migration system had been exploited by "self-serving" arrivals, proposing a hardline crackdown that includes Trump-style social media vetting, tougher deportation measures and a stricter test of national values.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said Taylor's proposal "has nothing to do with the national interest and is entirely about sending a vibe to One Nation".
"Not one line in the speech would deliver an extra job, create an extra house or keep anyone safer," he added.
Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy echoed those sentiments, saying it was "desperate dog-whistling from Angus Taylor, who's desperately trying to compete with One Nation in a race to the bottom".
"He has to be honest with the Australian public about what industries won't get workers through their policies. Who's going to lose doctors, who's going to lose nurses, who's going to lose aged-care workers?'' he added.
Greens senator David Shoebridge also argued Taylor's proposal reflected a broader shift toward "extreme right" politics, warning it sought to "divide us, to separate us, to make us see our neighbours as people to fear, not our friends and our workmates".
"The Coalition think that reintroducing elements of the white Australia policy is the way forward for Australia in 2026, actively excluding people on the basis of their country of origin, potentially on their religion," he said, referring to historical legislation that aimed to limit non-British, particularly non-white, migration to Australia.
Rights groups have also been swift to condemn Taylor's proposal as contrary to Australia's long-standing humanitarian commitments, warning it risks excluding migrants based on country of origin and religious belief.
'Fed up with politically correct preaching'
In an address to the Menzies Research Centre, Taylor presented the first pillar of a broader Coalition migration agenda, extending a framework developed under former Opposition leader Sussan Ley, and casting the issue as central to pressures on housing, infrastructure and social cohesion.
"Australians are fed up with politically correct preaching on immigration," Taylor said.
"Declining immigration standards have seen our door opened to too many migrants of transactional intent. People who aren't here to elevate Australia, but to use Australia's generosity for self-serving purposes."
The policy was unveiled as migration re-emerges as a hot-button issue for voters. Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows net overseas migration has fallen from 429,000 in 2023–24 to about 306,000 in 2024–25, with the Labor government pledging to target further reductions in the coming years.
Taylor argued that, despite the decline, enforcement had not kept pace and standards had weakened, allowing some entrants to take advantage of the system.
"The vast majority of migrants who come to this country do the right thing … The problem is the system loses integrity … if we don't put up a red light to radicals, and if we don't shut the door to people who are abusing the system," he told ABC radio on Tuesday morning.
Amnesty International Australia has condemned the suite of proposed reforms as divisive and discriminatory, warning it risks undermining Australia's multicultural foundations.
Campaigner Zaki Haidari said the proposals reflected "fear-driven, discriminatory Trumpian-like policies that seek to divide communities or stigmatise people based on where they come from", arguing they depart from Australia's "values of fairness, inclusion, and human rights".
Crackdown centred on values, enforcement and screening
The Opposition's proposal centres on tighter front-end screening and back-end enforcement, reshaping how both visa applicants and current holders are assessed.
A new national screening body would be created to centralise intelligence and compliance functions, with mandatory social media disclosure required for all visa applicants as part of an expanded vetting regime.
That change is reminiscent of policies expanded under United States President Donald Trump, which by late 2025 required most visa applicants to the US to disclose up to five years of social media history, including account handles and linked contact details, for security screening and risk assessment.
Opposition immigration spokesperson Jonathon Duniam said the proposal was "about getting in the people who ... are right for our country", insisting the Liberals were not emulating the policies of Trump's administration.
"We're looking at Australian law for Australian circumstances," Duniam told Sky News.
"We're not talking about copying America in any way. That is not where we're going."
The Coalition's plan also includes a dedicated multi-agency taskforce to identify and deport visa overstayers, targeting an estimated 65,000 unresolved cases involving people who have sought asylum or pursued legal appeals after exhausting other visa pathways. The proposed taskforce would coordinate federal agencies to locate and remove those who remain in Australia without a legal right to stay.
"We're not going to tolerate overstayers who refuse to hop off the appeals merry-go-round despite being told they have no legal right to stay in Australia," Taylor said.
The proposal would seek to make Australia's values framework legally binding. Visa holders would be required to comply with a prescribed set of behaviours, with breaches triggering cancellation and removal.
"If a visa holder undermines our democratic values, doesn't respect the law, or demonstrates they don't respect our core values, they will be booted out of Australia," he said.
Further measures include the introduction of a "safe country" list to accelerate the rejection of asylum claims from nations deemed secure, drawing on comparable overseas models and administered through the Home Affairs department.
Temporary protection visas, scrapped by Labor in 2023, would be reinstated to limit access to permanent residency pathways, while taxpayer-funded legal aid for visa appeals would be curtailed and waiting periods for social security extended for non-citizens.
"The prospect of permanent protection incentivises overstaying," Taylor said.
Refugee advocates have vehemently rejected that characterisation, arguing it misrepresents the motivations of people seeking protection.
"People who seek safety from unimaginable danger, who come here to rebuild their lives in safety and contribute to their communities, will be the ones who suffer," Asylum Seekers Centre CEO and former refugee Elijah Buol said.
"Singling out people from certain countries as inherently 'high risk' is deeply racist and profoundly dangerous. It paints entire communities with a brush of suspicion and risks legitimising discrimination against people already facing immense trauma."
'Creates division and hatred'
Additionally, the proposal signals closer scrutiny of specific cohorts, including people granted visas from conflict zones in recent years.
That includes a review of Palestinians from Gaza admitted following October 7 in 2023, a cohort Taylor singled out as an example, arguing they should face a rigorous re-evaluation.
"The Gazan cohort of 1,700 people here on visas presents a high risk to our nation," Taylor said.
Palestinian Christians in Australia president Suzan Wahhab said her group "cannot accept" Taylor's claim that those fleeing Gaza hadn’t been sufficiently screened.
"From our experience [over] the past two and a half years, we know that Australian migration employees and officers have been diligently screening every single family, every single person who has come to Australia," she told SBS World News.
Amnesty International Australia also criticised the focus on Palestinian visa holders, warning it risks prejudicing a group that has already undergone extensive security and character screening before entering Australia.
Haidari said those who fled Gaza had been subject to rigorous checks — including biometric and background assessments — and questioned the rationale for reassessing people who have been living in the country for years, warning it "creates division and hatred towards particular nationalities".
Shoebridge condemned the remarks as "wicked", accusing Taylor of unfairly targeting people fleeing conflict and undermining the values he claims to uphold.
"We saw some shameful comments from Angus Taylor today, suggesting that people who have come here fleeing the conflict from Palestine, from Gaza, don't fit in with Australian values," he said.
"I've met with Palestinian refugees. I've seen how they are so committed to Australia, so grateful for the peace and the support that they get here in Australia. I see how they live the values of Australian values."
More broadly, Taylor argued migration policy should prioritise alignment with Australian norms, drawing distinctions based on governance and societal systems in migrants' countries of origin.
"Declining immigration standards have seen our door opened to migrants of subversive intent," he said.
Proposal risks duplicating existing powers, expert says
Louisa Jones, the migration discipline lead at Australian Catholic University's Thomas More Law School, said the proposals risk duplicating vast powers already available to government.
"The Australian government already has a significant amount of cancellation powers to do just this, and there are already existing powers in relation to unauthorised boat arrivals," she said.
"This re-think lacks compassion for vulnerable refugees and continues to promote the notion that they are unwanted in Australia."
Taylor's speech coincides with the Coalition facing increased pressure from Pauline Hanson's One Nation, which has gained substantial ground on the issue of immigration, and as voter concern over population growth, housing and cost-of-living pressures continues to rise.
After succeeding Ley as Liberal leader in mid-February, Taylor acknowledged disaffection about immigration among conservative voters, promising that "if someone doesn't subscribe to our core beliefs, the door must be shut".
At the same time, he has sought to differentiate the Coalition from One Nation, saying "we are not seeking to be One Nation-light".
Further elements of the Coalition's migration policy are expected to be released in the coming months.
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