Skilled visas will be targeted as part of the Coalition's plan to cut permanent migration by 25 per cent.
Opposition leader Peter Dutton confirmed the cut after his immigration spokesperson Dan Tehan told ABC's Radio National the Coalition would slash permanent migration from 185,000 to 140,000.
Tehan said total permanent migration — which includes skilled and family visas — would be cut to 140,000 in the first year, but increase to 150,000 for the two years after that, before reaching 160,000 the following year.
He said skilled migration is expected to make up the bulk of these cuts.
Tehan later appeared to misspeak, saying the Coalition would cut skilled migration — rather than permanent migration — from 185,000 to 140,000.
The current skilled migration intake is set at 132,200 places for this financial year, a point that Dutton was questioned about during a press conference in Hobart on Thursday.
Dutton was asked whether he was, in fact, proposing an increase in migration.
"No, what we've said is that we cut migration by 25 per cent," he replied.
Dutton said he hadn't seen Tehan's comments but confirmed permanent migration would be cut.
The Coalition has also said it wants to reduce net migration — the difference between the number of people arriving in Australia and those leaving — by 100,000 in one year.
To achieve this, Tehan said it would:
- Lower the humanitarian intake by 20,000 visas, back to its long-term average of 13,750.
- Reduce foreign student commencements by at least 30,000 relative to Labor's figures.
- Review the temporary graduate visa.
- Tighten enforcement of visa rules to minimise the scope for abuse and visa hopping.
Dutton revealed on Monday the Coalition would not cut parent visas, which are capped at 8,500 places per year.
Family visas — including partner visas, of which there are 40,500 places per year — would also not be impacted, he said.
The cuts are expected to target skilled visas, which Tehan said would be cut by 45,000 places.
In 2024/25, around 132,200 skilled visas were available as part of Australia's permanent migration program, according to the Department of Home Affairs.
"We have to rebalance our migration program so we can allow the housing supply to catch up in this country," Tehan said.
Tehan was asked about whether cutting skilled visas could actually backfire amid worker shortages in many areas.
Tehan said the Coalition had done research about how many of the nearly one million migrants that had arrived in Australia in the first two years of the Labor government, were in the "trades area".
"It was less than 10,000," he said.
He said the Coalition would ensure skilled migrants were those with the skills Australia actually needs.
"We've said we want to prioritise those trades areas to complement our plumbers, our electricians, our builders," he said.
"In terms of hospitality, where we need chefs and cooks, we'll look at prioritising those areas.
"When it comes to aged care, what we'll do is we will change the settings that the Labor party have put in place, which is actually restricting people from being able to come into this country and work in our care sector because of the union movement."
Correction: An earlier version of this story reported Dan Tehan saying permanent migration would be cut to 150,000. The correct figure is 140,000.
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