Key facts
- Coalition plans to cut net overseas migration to 100,000 in the first two years.
- Temporary graduate visas would be abolished, with numbers slashed from 271,200 to 10,000 by 2031-32.
- A 2022 letter from Australia's trade minister details post-study work rights for Indian graduates.
- Advocates warn the plan risks breaching Australia's free trade agreement with India.
- The Coalition claims treaty commitments allow Australia to determine visa pathways.
- Universities Australia warns the changes could damage the higher education sector and economy.
The Coalition's proposed migration plan, which aims to significantly reduce net overseas migration, faces warnings from advocates that it could breach Australia's free trade agreement with India and harm the nation's economy and higher education sector.
Announced by shadow home affairs minister Angus Taylor, the plan proposes cutting net overseas migration to 100,000 for the first two years and up to 160,000 in year four. A key component is the abolition of temporary graduate visas, which would see their numbers slashed from 271,200 to just 10,000 by 2031-32. The plan also includes cuts to international student, bridging, and temporary protection visas, and a halving of humanitarian places.
Jonno Duniam, the shadow home affairs minister, stated that graduates wishing to stay would need to apply for separate temporary visas, arguing that universities have been selling a pathway to permanency rather than education. He added that abolishing the temporary graduate visa would allow Australia to focus on skills genuinely needed in the country.
Phil Honeywood, chief executive of the International Education Association of Australia (IEAA), expressed concern that the visa changes could violate the free trade agreement with India. A letter from April 2022, from then-Liberal trade minister Dan Tehan, outlined specific post-study work opportunities for Indian graduates, ranging from 18 months to four years depending on their qualification level. Honeywood noted the irony of targeting this visa given the special conditions negotiated with India, a major source of international students.
He warned that Australia would lose skilled workers in critical areas like health, IT, and engineering, and that the increase in "non-genuine" international students was partly due to a post-Covid directive by former Prime Minister Scott Morrison, which expanded work rights for students.
A spokesperson for the Coalition asserted that the plan would not breach the treaty, stating that Australia has the prerogative to determine which visa pathways are provided. They indicated that the government would work with affected international partners to establish new skilled visa pathways for their citizens.
Universities Australia, through its chief executive Luke Sheehy, warned that removing the temporary graduate program could make Australia less attractive to international students and graduates, potentially harming the higher education sector and the economy. Assistant Minister for International Education Julian Hill echoed these concerns, stating that such a move would deny Australia the ability to attract top skilled graduates and would hurt Australian employers.