In Brief
- Labor has previously proposed reducing net overseas migration and set a target of 225,000 arrivals a year by 2027-28.
- Burke was initially scheduled to unveil the policy last month but it was pushed back.
Labor is expected to unveil its long-awaited migration policy, with Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke set to outline the plan at the National Press Club on Thursday.
The policy was initially due to be unveiled by Burke at a National Press Club address in August. However, the speech was cancelled at the last minute after the government failed to secure cabinet agreement on the best approach.
Since then, Labor has maintained it was still finalising its plans.
The announcement comes as migration has emerged as a key political battleground, with pressure mounting on Labor to release its strategy.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has repeatedly declined to provide further details, refusing to set a timeframe for migration announcements and saying they would be made at "appropriate times".
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What could Labor be planning?
Labor has previously proposed reducing net overseas migration and set a target of 225,000 arrivals a year by 2027-28.
Burke has already flagged plans to make more changes to the visa system to curb net overseas migration, with the government officially confirming in August that it would slow the processing of working holiday visa applications.
The horticulture and tourism sectors have been calling for certainty, raising fears that a backlog of working holiday visas could mean there aren't enough workers for regional businesses in the summer months.
Labor is also expected to tighten rules for international students and their families and further restrict some visitor visas.
Potential changes could prevent international students from switching courses to extend their stay, increase scrutiny of onshore visa applications, limit the number of family members attached to student visas, and restrict transfers from higher education into vocational education and training programs.
Some tourist visas are also expected to be reduced from 12 months to six months.
The Albanese government has already confirmed that Australia's annual humanitarian intake of 20,000 places will not be reduced.
Burke has previously argued migration plans should be considered alongside housing supply, saying in June: "If you go at migration the wrong way, then you can actually make the housing situation worse."
Political pressure builds
Burke has told SBS News he tried to find a path for bipartisan agreement with the Opposition.
"I had hoped that the Opposition would work constructively to make sure the immigration minister of the day had additional powers to be able to regulate net overseas migration," he said on Wednesday.
"At the moment, they haven't agreed to measures which they claim to support.
"I would much rather have more targeted levers available."
Meanwhile, One Nation has proposed cutting migration by more than 750,000 places over three years, arguing Australia's migration system requires a major "reset".
Under the policy, international students, recent graduates and their family members would be hit hardest, with migration places in those categories reduced by almost 470,000 over three years.
— With additional reporting by Jack Revell.
This is a developing story and this article will be updated.
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