- Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke is expected to announce family restrictions for most international student visas on September 17, 2026.
- Australia issued 337,000 student visas last year, including 45,991 secondary applicants for dependants and family members.
- The One Nation proposal would cut family visas to zero for standard students and skilled migrants, allowing only select research students.
The Australian government is preparing to prevent most international students from bringing family members, with Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke expected to announce the restriction on September 17, 2026.
Burke is scheduled to outline the changes at the National Press Club. The plan would make family accompaniment heavily restricted or effectively unavailable under standard student visas.
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The measure is expected to form part of a wider migration crackdown. It is being presented as a major redesign of the system, not as a complete reduction in student numbers.
The announcement comes as a rival plan proposes deeper cuts. Pauline Hanson’s party would eliminate family visas for standard students and skilled migrants.
Last year, Australia issued 337,000 student visas. Secondary applicants received 45,991 of them, covering dependants or other family members.
Those figures show the group directly exposed by the proposed change. The government has described the move as a “significant revamp” of immigration arrangements.
The family restriction is tied to a wider effort to reduce temporary migration
The student measure sits within the government’s broader attempt to reduce net overseas migration to 225,000 next year and then to 225,000 by 2028.
Temporary migration has risen to three million. The government is seeking to bring that number down by reducing temporary visas, targeting “visa hopping,” and tightening routes that allow people to remain after their visas expire.
The government’s planned restriction therefore reaches beyond a single student rule. It is part of an effort to limit temporary visa growth and reduce population pressure.
| Government migration target or measure | Reported detail |
|---|---|
| Net overseas migration target | 225,000 next year and 225,000 by 2028 |
| Student visas issued last year | 337,000 |
| Secondary applicants among those grants | 45,991 |
| Wider temporary migration figure | Three million |
The planned family restriction would affect dependants attached to ordinary student visas. A separate category of students could face different treatment under the opposition proposal.
One Nation would reserve family access for a narrow research category
The One Nation proposal, announced on September 14, 2026, would cut visas for the families of standard students and skilled migrants to zero.
It would reduce student places from 590,000 to 350,000 over three years. The plan would also lower annual international student places to 100,000.
Only a new “high-value” study visa would allow dependants under the proposal. The category would cover PhD and select postgraduate research students.
That approach goes further than the government’s expected move. The government plan is described as a restriction on most family accompaniment, while the rival proposal explicitly sets family visas at zero for standard student visa holders.
Hanson said the party’s plan would cut temporary migration by 750,000 over three years. She said it would produce “net-negative” overseas migration during the first three years.
“net-negative”
Hanson also described the proposed research category as “a new ‘high-value’ study visa.”
David Farley, a One Nation MP, said the party was “potentially” open to restricting visas for relatives of Australian citizens. He said that position would depend on housing and other essential services.
Legal concerns would arise if the policy reached citizens’ families
Abul Rizvi, a former deputy secretary of the Immigration Department, said limits on family visas for Australian citizens would be unlawful.
Rizvi said successive governments had already “administratively — and unlawfully — curtailed the issuance of such visas.” His comments addressed a possible extension of the migration debate beyond temporary visa holders.
The expected government announcement concerns students and their dependants. The separate political debate includes broader questions about family access for citizens and skilled migrants.
The distinction is reflected in the competing proposals. The government is expected to focus on temporary student migration, while One Nation has proposed cuts covering families linked to both students and skilled migrants.
Burke is due to set out the government’s next steps on September 17
The government’s changes are scheduled for announcement at the National Press Club on September 17, 2026.
The policy would arrive against a system in which 45,991 secondary applicants received student visas last year. Those grants include the family members and dependants most likely to be affected by a new restriction.
The reported measures do not amount to a full cut in student numbers. They instead target the ability of most students to bring family members while the government pursues broader limits on temporary migration.
