Most international students unable to bring dependants or family members to Australia under Labor’s migration policy.
Foreign citizens staying in Australia without a valid visa face new enforcement measures to force them to leave the country, with Labor’s changes to immigration also set to prevent international students extending their stay indefinitely.
The home affairs minister, Tony Burke, has unveiled changes to immigration rules, promising to bring down net overseas migration to 245,000 this financial year, and 225,000 in 2027-28.
On Thursday, the ABS confirmed the Nom had eased to 292,000 in the year to March from 299,000 in December.
Burke said the government would carry out new compliance measures to ensure people without valid visas leave the country, including plans to repurpose a former quarantine facility in Melbourne as a detention centre and bring on an additional 100 compliance officers.
Ahead of an address to the National Press Club in Canberra, Burke said so-called visa hopping by international students would be restricted, and visas for family members of students would be restricted.
Last year Australia issued more than 337,000 international student visas, of which about 45,000 went to dependents or family members of the primary applicant.
Amid concerns from the agriculture sector that the arms race in immigration policy could create workforce shortages and even delay some harvesting and processing ahead of Christmas, Burke said Labor would change working holidaymaker visa rules to introduce a ballot system for years two and three, where there will be a regional work requirement.