Australia will cut its working holiday second-year ballot cap to 45,000 places, down from the 57,000 who qualified last year, as part of a migration crackdown announced on 17 September 2026 by Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke. The government aims to bring net overseas migration down to 225,000 people by 2028.

Burke revealed the package of measures in a speech titled "The work of managing the migration program: who arrives, who stays, who leaves". He said that while immigration was a "strength" of Australia, there needed to be a "high level of control".

Who is affected by the new rules?

The crackdown targets three groups:

• International students, who will no longer automatically bring family members with them and will face new limits on extending their stay.
• So-called "visa hoppers", students who finish a course and apply for another, often a lower qualification, sometimes with a "not so legitimate provider".
• Working holidaymakers aged 18 to 30, who can work in Australia for 12 months and extend for a second and third year.

What changes for international students?

On student and graduate visas, Burke said: "We will no longer be adding to the stock of students automatically being able to bring family members over."

The minister outlined several exemptions:

• Foreign students already in Australia can keep bringing family members.
• Applicants from Pacific and South East Asian countries are exempt.
• PhD students can still bring their families, as they are in different life circumstances from undergraduates.

Students who want to extend their stay must move "up the scale" in qualifications. A student who finishes a bachelor's degree and then wants to complete a masters will be allowed to stay. Applications for a lower qualification than the one already completed will be refused.

How do the working holiday changes work?

Working holiday visas, commonly used by backpackers, are a crucial labour source for Australia's agricultural sector. Current rules require holders to work three months in regional Australia during their first year to qualify for a second year, and six months to qualify for a third year.

Under the new system, both extensions will run through a ballot with sharply reduced caps:

• Second year: ballot limited to 45,000 places, down from 57,000 who qualified last year.
• Third year: ballot limited to 5,000 places, down from 31,000 who qualified last year.

British working holidaymakers will not be affected, due to the UK's free trade agreement with Australia.

What is driving the policy?

New figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, released on 17 September, showed Australia's population grew 1.4% in the 12 months to March 2026, reaching 27.9 million. That figure includes net overseas migration of 292,100.

Migration remains a major political issue amid rising living costs, housing affordability pressures and strain on public services. One Nation, a populist right-wing party that won its first lower house seat in May, has proposed cutting temporary migrant visas by 750,000 over three years and capping net overseas immigration at 130,000. Burke said that proposal would risk "smashing parts of the Australian economy".

What has changed in recent months?

The September announcement follows earlier measures:

• In July, the government began prioritising onshore applications for family visas over those submitted overseas.
• Skilled migrants already in Australia applying for permanent visas received priority over offshore applicants.
• Australia paused working holiday visa applications from 24 countries, not including the UK.

Violet Roumeliotis of Settlement Services International, which helps new arrivals to Australia, criticised the direction of the debate. She said it was increasingly driven by "short-term politics rather than what is best for the country".

"The proposed changes to family visas for international students is a good example of this," she said, adding that the change would make it harder for Australia to compete for "future talent".

Applicants and visa holders should monitor announcements from the Department of Home Affairs for commencement dates and detailed eligibility criteria as the measures are implemented.