Australia Migration Changes September 2026: What Tony Burke Announced and What It Means for You

Australia's migration rules changed significantly on 17 September 2026.

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke used a National Press Club address to announce a package of regulatory changes targeting temporary visa holders. The speech was titled "The Work of Managing the Migration Program: Who Arrives, Who Stays, Who Leaves."

These changes affect international students, working holiday makers, people on visitor visas, and skilled migrants waiting for their applications to be processed. If any of these categories apply to you, read every section below carefully.

What Tony Burke Announced on 17 September 2026

The government's goal is to reduce net overseas migration from 292,100 (the year to March 2026) to 245,000 this financial year, and down to 225,000 by 2027-28.

Because talks with the Coalition over new legislation broke down, all of these changes are being made through regulation, meaning changes to visa conditions and processing rules rather than new laws. They take effect quickly.

The changes fall into five areas:

• International student dependants
• Working holiday maker second and third year visas
• Visitor visas
• Skilled visa processing priorities
• Enforcement against visa overstayers

What Changes for International Students

This is the largest single change in today's announcement.

From now on, the vast majority of international students will not be able to bring family members to Australia as secondary visa applicants.

Previously, a student could apply for their partner or children to join them on a dependent visa. In the 2024-25 financial year, 45,991 people entered Australia as dependants of student visa holders. That pathway is now effectively closed.

The student visa intake itself is not being cut. The number of students who can study in Australia is not changing. What is changing is that students will be expected to come alone.

Students will also be expected to progress to higher-level qualifications rather than repeatedly re-enrolling in lower-level courses. The government has made clear it wants the student visa programme to deliver genuine educational outcomes, not extended stays.

If you are currently in Australia on a student visa with a dependant already here, you are not immediately affected. These changes apply to future visa applications.

What Changes for Working Holiday Makers

The working holiday visa is getting a ballot system for second and third year extensions.

Currently, any backpacker who completes the required regional work can apply for a second year, and then a third. The numbers were uncapped.

From now on:

• Second year places are capped at 45,000, down from approximately 57,000 who qualified last year
• Third year places are capped at 5,000, down from approximately 31,000 who qualified last year
• Applicants must enter a ballot to determine whether they receive one of the available places

All working holiday visa applicants will also face a processing time of up to three months. Previously, approvals came through in roughly one day.

British citizens remain exempt from the regional work requirement for second and third years, under Australia's free trade agreement with the UK. This has not changed.

If you are already in Australia on a working holiday visa and have completed your regional work, you will need to enter the ballot when you apply for your extension. There is no guarantee of a place even if you meet all the requirements.

What the Visitor Visa No Further Stay Condition Means

All future visitor visas will carry a No Further Stay condition.

A No Further Stay condition means that while you are in Australia on a visitor visa, you cannot apply for another visa and stay in Australia. When your visitor visa ends, you must leave.

Previously, people on visitor visas could apply for a bridging visa while lodging a new application, effectively extending their time in Australia indefinitely. That pathway is now closed for anyone who receives a visitor visa from this point forward.

This does not apply to visitor visas already granted. If you are currently in Australia on a visitor visa, your conditions have not changed.

Burke specifically noted that this change will make things easier for people waiting on partner visas. Partners will be able to spend extended time visiting Australia on a visitor visa without that visit automatically converting to a bridging visa arrangement.

What Changes for Skilled Visa Applicants

Ministerial Direction 119, which was issued in July 2026, already placed overseas skilled visa applicants at the back of the processing queue. This has pushed wait times for some visa subclasses from a matter of days to over a year.

Today's announcement updates that direction to expand the list of priority sectors. The government will now prioritise:

• Construction workers
• Healthcare workers
• Agriculture workers
• Education workers

If you are in one of these industries and are applying for a skilled visa from within Australia, your application may now be processed faster than before.

If you are applying from overseas, you remain at the back of the queue under Ministerial Direction 119. The priority system applies to onshore applicants first.

The 485 Temporary Graduate visa was specifically mentioned by Burke as unchanged. The additional year available to Indian nationals under the Australia-India free trade agreement remains in place.

What Happens to Visa Overstayers

The government is reviving a detention model that was in place before 2015.

There are currently an estimated 77,000 unlawful non-citizens in Australia. These are people whose visas have expired and who have not left. From now on, people who overstay their visa will be liable to be taken into immigration detention.

The government is hiring 100 additional compliance officers and creating 250 new detention beds near airports. It is also assessing whether a former quarantine facility in Melbourne can be repurposed as a detention centre.

Burke was clear that this is not a mass deportation programme. The intent is a behavioural change, where people without a valid visa choose to leave voluntarily rather than wait to be detained.

If your visa has expired or is about to expire and you have no pathway to remain, you should seek advice immediately.

What Did Not Change

Several things that were discussed in media coverage in the weeks before today did not change:

• The permanent migration programme planning level remains at 185,000 places per year
• The refugee and humanitarian intake remains at 20,000 places per year
• International student numbers themselves are not being cut
• The 485 Temporary Graduate visa remains available, including the extra year for Indian nationals
• The 190 and 491 state nomination programmes continue as before
• The skilled migration programme is still open

What This Means If You Are Planning to Apply

If you are a prospective student, come alone or reassess your timeline. The family dependant pathway is no longer available.

If you are a working holiday maker planning to extend, register for the ballot as soon as the system opens. Do not assume a place is guaranteed because you completed the regional work.

If you are currently in Australia on a visitor visa and were planning to switch to another visa onshore, get advice now. The No Further Stay condition on future visitor visas does not affect your current visa, but you should understand your options before your current visa expires.

If you are an offshore skilled visa applicant, processing times remain long under Ministerial Direction 119. If you are in construction, healthcare, agriculture, or education, your position in the queue may improve.

If your visa has already expired, seek advice immediately. The enforcement environment has changed significantly from today.