Australia cracks down on student and backpacker visas to curb migration
Australia is implementing stricter visa regulations to reduce net migration, including banning international students from bringing dependents and introducing a ballot system for backpackers. The government aims to lower annual migration to pre-pandemic levels amid public concerns over the cost of living.
Why it matters
These policy shifts reflect a broader global trend of tightening immigration controls in response to domestic economic pressures and political shifts.
Australia will stop foreign students from bringing partners and children to accompany them while they study and tighten working holiday visa rules, a senior Minister said on Thursday (September 17, 2026), amid growing debate over high migration levels.
The government's move comes after the hard-right One Nation party, which has been surging in recent polls, said this week that it would slash the number of temporary migrants by 750,000 over three years, to give Australians "breathing space."
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke dismissed suggestions the changes were politically motivated by the One Nation party, which describes its approach as "Australia first" and whose policies have drawn comparisons to those of U.S. President Donald Trump.
"It's simply demonstrably wrong to suspect that somehow this is a recent bit of work done to deal with a political climate - it's not," Mr. Burke told reporters.
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