Australia to cut migration to fix housing crisis, says minister

Australia plans to cut migration numbers to address its housing crisis, according to Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke. Net overseas migration, which measures the net gain or loss of people through movement to and from the country, has fallen to 47% below its post-Covid peak of 538,000 in 2022. Burke said policy changes aimed to reach a target of 225,000 migrants next year.

To achieve this, the government will tighten rules on visa hopping, students, working holiday makers, and overstayers. New measures include curbing family members who join students in Australia, making it harder for students to extend their stay, and imposing a ballot system for working holiday makers in rural areas. There will be fewer visas available for those who stay for multiple years, and family members visiting Australians will face no further stay conditions.

Burke denied that the ruling Labor party was tightening visa rules in response to the rise of the far-right One Nation party. However, business groups warned that such cuts could cause economic damage. To address the visa overstayers, Australia will return to a policy where overstayers are given two weeks to leave the country or face detention and deportation. An additional 100 compliance officers and 250 more beds in immigration detention centres will be provided to enforce these consequences.

While Burke insisted that housing shortages are not caused by migrants, migrants with construction and housing skills will be prioritized for visas. He emphasized that the goal is to ensure the housing industry can catch up with the influx of new residents.