On 17 September 2026, Australia’s Immigration Minister Tony Burke outlined significant reforms to the migration program. These changes, once implemented, will reshape how migration applications are processed, evaluated, and enforced.
Key announcements and target areas:
Student and Graduate Visas
- It will become more difficult for onshore students to change their course, only progressing up the qualification will remain an option (e.g., bachelor to master to PhD)
- Students will no longer be able to include family members in their applications
- Exceptions to the rule are planned for students from Pacific and ASEAN nations, as well as for PhD students
- Students and their families already in Australia are NOT affected by these changes
Working Holiday Maker (s/c 417 and 462)
- Second and third year applicants who meet the requirements are no longer guaranteed a place in the program. Those applicants will have to enter a ballot
- The ballot for year 2 will be capped at 45,000 places
- The ballot for year 3 will be capped at only 5,000 places
- Processing times for working holiday makers, which has previously slowed down, is expected to pick up again going forward
- UK working holiday makers are not affected by these changes. However, processing is expected to be much slower going forward
Visitor Visas will be issued with a mandatory ‘no further stay’ condition
- Future visitor visas will carry a “no further stay” condition, preventing onshore conversion to most other visas (protection visas are excluded).
- This change will mainly affect onshore partner visas, as it closes the pathway to travel to Australia on a visitor visa and apply for a partner visa onshore.
- This will also affect other popular onshore pathways, including onshore Partner, Parent, and Remaining Relative visas lodged by visitor visa holders.
Planning an onshore Partner or Parent Visa application? The “no further stay” conditions may close the visitor visa pathway you were counting on and make the offshore partner visa (s/c 309) the better choice, provided you can meet the 12-month de facto requirement. Before you book flights or lodge anything, let’s discuss your options.
Disclaimer This blog post summarises publicly available information from the National Press Club address dated 17 September 2026. Individual circumstances vary, and immigration rules are subject to change. Always consult official Department of Home Affairs sources or a registered migration agent before making application decisions. Source: Tony Burke National Press Club Address, 17 September 2026 — Full text available via the National Press Club website.