The Australian government has unveiled a long-awaited overhaul of the immigration system, introducing tighter restrictions affecting various groups, including international students and working holidaymakers.


Under the new framework, foreign students will generally be banned from bringing family members to Australia, as the country's ABC news outlet reports.


However, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said the restriction would not apply to students from ASEAN countries, including Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and eight other countries.


The exemption, announced on September 17, had remained unclear ahead of the government's unveiling of the new framework.


Phil Honeywood, chief executive of the International Education Association of Australia, said the exemption was “part of the government’s regional strategic policy to provide supportive policy settings for our neighbours in the region”.


The government will also tighten the working holidaymaker scheme, which allows visitors from a range of countries, including Singapore, to stay in Australia for up to 12 months while undertaking short-term work and study.


The number of working holidaymakers allowed to stay for a second year will be cut to 45,000 annually from 57,000, while third-year places will fall to 5,000 from 31,000. The places will be allocated by ballot.


The government also said its skilled visa programme would prioritize workers with skills in construction, agriculture, fisheries, mining and teaching.


The new migration rules will also target “visa hopping”, in which international students switch courses to extend their stay in Australia.


The reforms come as the Labor government seeks to address rising support for anti-migrant populist Pauline Hanson and her One Nation party.


The government plans to reduce the overall migration intake from about 300,000 a year to 245,000 in the year from mid-2026 to mid-2027, and to 225,000 in the following 12 months.


However, those reductions are considerably smaller than those proposed by One Nation. On September 14, the party announced plans to reduce the annual migrant intake to 130,000 and cut the number of temporary visa holders, including international students and family members of skilled migrants, by 750,000 over the next three years. Australia currently has about three million temporary visa holders.


Announcing the changes on September 17, Burke said excessive migration cuts such as those proposed by One Nation would “trash the economy”. He said the government supports immigration but opposes attempts to exploit the system.


“Almost everyone who comes to Australia is a good guest in our country. These reforms are to ensure that our migration system can be better targeted to the current needs of Australia,” Burke said.


Opinion surveys show strong public support for restricting migrant numbers amid concerns over pressure on Australia's inadequate housing supply and strained social services.


A survey cited by the news article found that 31 percent of voters supported One Nation's approach to migration, compared with 24 percent who favored Labor's approach and 19 percent who supported the Liberal-National Coalition, which wants to reduce migration to below 200,000 a year. The remaining 26 percent supported other approaches or were undecided.


By Nazrin Sadigova