Australia's home affairs minister, Tony Burke, has outlined a series of immigration changes aimed at tightening control over who enters, stays in, and leaves the country. The proposals, announced on Thursday, include a new ballot system for working holidaymakers, restrictions on international students bringing family members, and increased enforcement against visa overstayers, including a new detention centre.
Backpacker Ballot System to Extend Stays
In June 2025, there were 206,000 working holidaymaker visa holders in Australia. Currently, most backpackers must work in regional areas to extend their stay beyond one year. Under the new proposal, those seeking a second year will need to be selected from a ballot pool of 45,000 places, while third-year hopefuls will compete for just 5,000 spots.
UK workers will remain exempt from these caps and regional work requirements, a condition agreed under the free trade agreement. Burke said the government will continue discussions with UK counterparts on this “challenge.”
Limits on Student Family Visas
The changes also target international students and graduate visa holders, who will no longer be able to add family members to their visas. The rule, however, does not affect those already in the country. Exemptions apply to students from Pacific and Asean nations, as well as PhD candidates.
“You’re often in a very different circumstance of life for those sorts [PhD] of students than people are for undergraduate,” Burke said.
Increased Enforcement and Detention for Overstayers
To address visa overstaying, Australia will add 100 compliance officers and repurpose a former quarantine facility into a detention centre. Burke noted that the changes aim to shift behaviour, recalling that previously there were six to seven voluntary departures for every enforced removal.
“The real change is effectively for people to be self-managing and working on the basis that this is a country where, if I’ve no longer got a visa, I should leave, and … it’s a behavioural change that’s actually the really big shift,” he said.
The measures are expected to ease political pressure over migration numbers following a post-pandemic surge. Guardian Australia has sought further details from the home affairs department on monitoring and enforcement steps.
