Migration Reform 2026: What Minister Burke’s Announcement Means for You

Minister Tony Burke addressed the National Press Club on 17 September 2026 and has outlined the Government’s next phase of migration reform framed around three questions: Who arrives? Who stays? Who leaves?

For clients, employers and immigration professionals, there are several important changes to watch.

Who arrives?

Skilled migration

• The GSM points system will be overhauled and will provide an uplift for certain qualifications and skills considered a priority. An example was given where a trades qualification relevant to an in-demand occupation may receive the same points as a bachelor/masters degree.
• A new Ministerial Direction is expected to replace Direction 119 giving greater priority to key industries including agriculture and fisheries regardless of whether applicants are onshore or offshore.
• The Government’s broader objective is to better align migration with Australia’s workforce needs, housing capacity and economic conditions.
• The Government is also wary that cutting too much immigration could lead to detrimental impacts to the economy, including making Australia’s skilled visa program less attractive for in-demand occupations, such as doctors, nurses, construction trades workers, aged care workers.

Student visas

• Students and graduates will no longer be able to have secondary visa applicants. Few exemptions will apply, including PhD students and eligible students covered by Pacific Island and Timor-Leste and ASEAN agreements.
• The Government is restricting further student visa extension applications, particularly where the student enrols in a lower-level course. Moving up course levels (e.g. from Bachelors to Masters studies) would be fine, but not moving down (e.g. from Bachelors to trades). Moving down/changing courses to a lower level would require a new Student Visa and they’ll be reassessed on their genuineness as students.
• The Government is also seeking to limit “visa hopping” moving between visas and using appeals to extend a stay beyond the original visa’s intent without demonstrating genuine educational progression. Students will generally be expected to progress to a higher qualification level rather than continually moving between courses.
• Genuine applications to extend a visa to complete course requirements or to transfer to another appropriate course may still be possible.
• The Government is considering an EOI-style system for student visas although this would require legislation.
• The Government emphasised the distinction between “visa hopping” just to further their stay in Australia and legitimate progression supported by the immigration system (e.g. student visa to graduate visa to skilled PR visa to citizenship).

Who stays?

Working Holiday Makers

• Second and third Working Holiday visas will move towards a ballot system with places increasingly capped.
• For employers, this means less certainty around workforce planning and staff retention. Workers who would previously have been able to seamlessly extend their stay may no longer be guaranteed access to a further visa.
• Regional work requirements will remain. However, it would become an eligibility requirement to submit a EOI for the ballot system.
• The impact will be felt most by regional employers and industries heavily reliant on Working Holiday Makers including hospitality, tourism, agriculture, food processing, and seasonal labour. Businesses that have historically relied on a steady pipeline of workers completing regional work requirements may need to review their long-term workforce strategies.
• The UK will not be affected by the proposed ballot arrangements. Though the Government will be looking at how to manage processing times and obligations under free trade agreements.

Visitor visas

• A No Further Stay (8503) condition will apply to all future visitor visas. Existing visitor visas and those already in Australia holding a visitor visa will not be affected.
• This could have a significant impact on people considering moving from a visitor visa to another visa pathway, including certain partner visa circumstances.
• The Government has indicated that visitors will be given an extended period in which to travel to Australia while their substantive visa application is being processed. This means offshore partner should be able to more easily be granted visitor visas for extended periods to be with their partner in Australia.

Who leaves?

For visa holders with criminal records, the Government intends to return to a pre-2015 approach to deportation involving greater ministerial discretion around visa cancellation rather than the current mandatory cancellation and detention framework.

The Government will also:

• Add 100 compliance officers.
• Provide an additional 250 detention beds.
• Increase action against people attempting to circumvent the migration system.

Ministerial Direction 110 will also be updated to strengthen protections for victims of child-related crimes and family violence while reflecting modern Australia’s commitment to combating hatred, discrimination and harmful conduct within the community.

Other important points

The Minister acknowledged that the reforms are not as comprehensive as the Government would ultimately like. Importantly, the legislation and new Ministerial Directions have not yet been released.

So, while the announcement provides a clear indication of the Government’s direction, the practical impact will depend on the detail of the legislation, regulations and Ministerial Directions when they are released.

The stated objective is to bring migration numbers to more realistic levels that take account of Australia’s housing capacity, while continuing to support industries experiencing genuine workforce shortages and avoiding unnecessary impacts on the economy.

📌 For clients: If you may be affected by any of these proposed changes, please reach out to Gilton Valeo Lawyers today.

We’ll continue to monitor the detail as the final legal framework is released.