Opposition leader Angus Taylor has unveiled plans to cut Australia’s temporary migration intake by about 650,000 people over four years in what he says would be the “biggest cuts to immigration in the history of this country”.
An elected Coalition government would more than halve net migration for two years to 100,000 annually, 130,000 in its third year and 160,000 in the fourth. Following this, the Coalition would link net migration levels to the pace of housing completions.
The Coalition says it would abolish temporary graduate visas, halve the humanitarian intake to 10,000 places a year, and reduce bridging visas by forcing temporary visa holders to leave Australia if they want to apply for a new visa.
The Coalition would also cap international student commencements at 240,000.
The Coalition’s plan follows Labor’s announcement it would target a net overseas migration figure of 245,000 this year and 225,000 in 2027-28. Meanwhile, One Nation has already said it would implement a “negative” intake for three years, and then set a target of 130,000 people in the “long term”. One Nation would cut 750,000 temporary visas over three years.
Speaking on Tuesday, Taylor said he had confidence the plan would be “budget neutral” because the cuts made to temporary visas would be offset by higher tax income from an increase in skilled migrants. This includes around 60,000 additional temporary skilled visa holders and 15,000 skilled project visas which would prioritise sectors like healthcare.
Taylor has not released any costing for the migration policy, nor has he acknowledged the profound impact it may have on feminised industries.
The impact on women
So what does all this mean for women, especially in sectors like aged care which are heavily female-dominated? Speaking to the ABC’s 7.30, Taylor said he did not have the “exact number” of aged care workers who would be affected by the visa changes. He acknowledged “some” aged care would be affected, while others would be unaffected.
He noted there is an exemption, or “transition arrangement” for healthcare workers in regional areas.
What counts as “skilled” work?
Another question to consider is what counts as “skilled” work and whether the migration policy will favour occupations associated with higher wages or particular skills that are more likely to be held by men. Taylor said the Coalition would focus on bringing in high-value migrants who would pay more tax, but could this lead to the squeezing out of essential but undervalued work that is often done by women in low-paid sectors?
We may see migrant women currently working in aged care, disability care and early childhood education lose access to a pathway to permanent residency or face changes to their visa arrangements.
It’s worth considering what kind of flow-on impact this might have on women across Australia, who tend to take on more of the unpaid care work at home when formal services can’t meet demand.
Women refugees to be hit hardest
And with the Coalition set to halve the government’s humanitarian intake, women and children will be among those hardest hit. In 2024-35, just over half of Australia’s offshore humanitarian visa recipients were women, while 42.6 per cent were children under aged 18. Meanwhile, in the same period, 981 visas were granted to ‘vulnerable’ women and children.
As global conflict surges, the Coalition’s plan will see more vulnerable women and children rejected.
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