Full Breakdown
One Nation’s “Net-Negative” Migration Plan Targets 750,000 Temporary Visas
By Drooid · · How we work
Core Event
On September 14, 2026, One Nation leader Pauline Hanson unveiled a policy to reduce Australia’s temporary migration by more than 750,000 places over the next three years. The plan calls for a “net-negative” migration trajectory, cutting student visas, graduate visas and family visas for skilled migrants while keeping seasonal worker programmes such as the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme unchanged. Hanson framed the proposal as a way to “reset” the immigration system and give Australians “breathing room”.
Background & Context
Australia’s net overseas migration (NOM) has risen sharply since the post-COVID surge, prompting Labor and the Coalition to consider their own cuts ahead of the upcoming federal election. One Nation’s proposal differs by targeting the temporary visa stream rather than the skilled permanent stream, and by proposing a return to 2017-level overall migration numbers (approximately 2.1–2.2 million people). The party also pledged a three-month deadline for unlawful overstayers, after which a lifetime re-entry ban would apply.
Data & Statistics
- Target reduction: 750,000 temporary visas over three years.
- Student visas: Planned cap of roughly one-third of the 2025-26 intake, lowering annual places to just over 100,000 (Guardian) or to 135,000 per year.
- Graduate visas: From 270,000 to 40,000 annually.
- Net overseas migration ceiling: 130,000 per year after the three-year period, to be reviewed annually.
- International education value: $53.6 billion to the economy.
- Current temporary visas granted (2025-26): More than 470,000 across student and graduate categories.
Official Statements & Responses
- Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition leader Angus Taylor have held talks on Labor’s delayed migration package, which is expected to further lower NOM but has not been finalised.
- Health Minister Mark Butler warned that the cuts would “kill critical industries,” naming construction, health, aged-care and disability services.
- Treasury spokesperson Barnaby Joyce contended that returning to 2017-level migration would not harm the economy and expressed confidence that house prices would not fall to 2017 levels.
- Environment Minister Murray Watt warned the plan could “decimate” healthcare and food industries and likened the reductions to a “magic pudding”.
Criticism & Opposition
Business groups uniformly opposed the proposal. Hamish McIntyre, president of the National Farmers’ Federation, warned food prices could rise if seasonal and backpacker workers were unavailable. Angus Taylor labelled the plan “half-baked” and “absolute nonsense,” questioning its impact on small businesses.
Conflicting Reports & Gaps
- The Guardian states the net overseas migration total would be 130,000 under the plan, while the SMH notes a cap of 135,000 student visas per year, creating a slight discrepancy in projected annual figures.
- Sources differ on the exact reduction in student visas: the Guardian cites a target of 350,000 over three years, ABC reports a drop to just over 100,000 places annually, and the SMH mentions a cap of 135,000.
- No detailed breakdown has been released for how the “high-value” postgraduate visa quota of 15,000 will be allocated across disciplines.
Verbatim Quotes
- “I know Australians are doing it tough,” — Pauline Hanson, senator
- “Our new high-value postgraduate study visa will also help attract the world's brightest minds in science, engineering and medical research, giving Australia the talent we need to compete and returning universities to their proper role as research institutions rather than visa factories,” — Senator Hanson
What’s Next
One Nation’s policy documents indicate that after the three-year “net-negative” period, the NOM ceiling of 130,000 will be reviewed each year. No specific dates for the review process have been announced.