Australian opposition unveils migration plan: abolish the subclass 485 graduate visa, cap new international students at 240,000 a year
Australia · Study abroad · Announced 2026-10-06 (opposition platform, not law)
| Country / region | Australia |
|---|---|
| Category | Study abroad |
| Date | Announced 2026-10-06 (opposition platform, not law) |
| What happened | On 10-06 the federal opposition Coalition (led by Angus Taylor) released its Australia-First Migration Plan, billed as the largest immigration cut in Australian history: (1) abolish the Temporary Graduate (subclass 485) visa, keeping post-study transitional visas only for PhD graduates, students in health or education, and students at regional universities; (2) cap international student commencements at 240,000 a year — below the current planning level of 295,000 — and restrict most students from bringing dependants, targeting a foreign-student share of higher education below 25 per cent; (3) cut net overseas migration to 100,000 a year for the first two years, levelling out at around 160,000 in year four (for context, ABS net overseas migration was 292,100 in the year to 31 March 2026); (4) reduce the stock of temporary visa holders by around 650,000 over four years; (5) halve the humanitarian intake from 20,000 to 10,000 places a year; (6) keep the permanent skilled program capped at 185,000 places a year while adding skilled channels (up to 5,000 more a year through the Specialist stream of the Skills in Demand visa, and a new 15,000-place Skilled Project Visa each year). The Guardian reports a transition period of about four years before the 485 is abolished, with the party's own table showing Temporary Graduate holders falling from about 271,200 to roughly 10,000 by 2031-32. |
| Impact on applicants | This is an opposition election platform, not law — it would take a Coalition election win plus legislation before anything changes, and current visas and filed applications are unaffected. But the direction is unambiguous: under either party, Australia's enter-easily-stay-harder settings are tightening. The Labor government's student visa rules that commenced on 10-02 (onshore renewals largely closed, dependants restricted) are already in force; if the opposition platform were implemented, the study-to-485-to-permanent-residence path would lose most of its value. Families planning Australia should stop treating the 485 as a default: weight regional universities, health and education programmes, PhD pathways and direct skilled migration more heavily — and note that Hong Kong and British National (Overseas) passport holders, who currently receive five years on the 485, face the same uncertainty. |
| Source | Liberal Party of Australia / Coalition, Australia-First Migration Plan announcement (2026-10-06) · Reuters and Guardian reporting ↗ Note on scope: opposition platform — not legislated; final terms subject to any enacted bill |
Source: Liberal Party of Australia announcement (2026-10-06) ↗ · Last verified: 2026-10-16 · For reference only; not application or legal advice. Always check the official source for current rules.
FAQ
What is in the Australian opposition's migration plan?
On 10-06 the federal opposition Coalition (led by Angus Taylor) released its Australia-First Migration Plan, billed as the largest immigration cut in Australian history: abolish the Temporary Graduate (subclass 485) visa, keeping post-study transitional visas only for PhD graduates, students in health or education, and students at regional universities; cap international student commencements at 240,000 a year (below the current planning level of 295,000) and restrict most students from bringing dependants, targeting a foreign-student share of higher education below 25 per cent; cut net overseas migration to 100,000 a year for the first two years, levelling out at around 160,000 in year four (for context, ABS net overseas migration was 292,100 in the year to 31 March 2026); reduce the stock of temporary visa holders by around 650,000 over four years; halve the humanitarian intake from 20,000 to 10,000 places a year; and keep the permanent skilled program capped at 185,000 places a year. The Guardian reports a transition period of about four years before the 485 is abolished, with the party's own table showing Temporary Graduate holders falling from about 271,200 to roughly 10,000 by 2031-32.
Is this in effect now? Will it affect applications already filed?
No. This is an opposition election platform, not law — it would take a Coalition election win plus legislation before anything changes, and current visas and filed applications are unaffected. The contrast to hold in mind: the Labor government's student visa rules that commenced on 10-02 (onshore renewals largely closed, dependants restricted) are already in force; the opposition platform still has to clear an election and parliament.
What does this mean for families planning to study in Australia?
Direction matters more than detail: under either party, Australia's enter-easily-stay-harder settings are tightening, and study in Australia to 485 to permanent residence should no longer be treated as the default path. Three practical adjustments: (1) include regional universities in the school list — the plan explicitly keeps post-study transitional visas for graduates of regional universities; (2) tilt towards health, education and PhD pathways, which are retained; (3) price in a direct skilled-migration route and a multi-country application strategy as hedges. Note also that Hong Kong and British National (Overseas) passport holders currently receive five years on the 485, and that arrangement is equally exposed. This page is for reference only and is not application or legal advice.
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