Tony Burke is set to announce tougher limits on international students bringing family members.
Why it matters: International education is a major export industry, and the move could affect universities, enrollment demand and migration flows. It also lands in the middle of Australia’s housing and immigration debate.
- Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke is expected to speak at the National Press Club in Canberra on Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026.
- The plan is expected to make it effectively impossible for most international students to bring family members to Australia.
- Australia granted more than 337,000 international student visas in the previous year, including about 45,000 for dependents or family members.
- The government wants net overseas migration to fall from about 300,000 to 225,000 by 2028.
Australia’s government is preparing a new immigration crackdown that would sharply limit international students’ ability to bring family members with them, according to advance reporting from ABC News and The Guardian.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke is expected to detail the overhaul at the National Press Club in Canberra on Thursday, Sept. 17, after postponing the speech by about six weeks amid cabinet disagreements. The reported package would also target visa overstays, lengthy appeals and so-called visa hopping between categories.
The family-member restriction would hit a politically sensitive area: migration policy tied to housing affordability and the scale of temporary migration. Labor’s stated target is to reduce net overseas migration from about 300,000 to 225,000 by 2028, while the ABS said annual net overseas migration for the year ending Dec. 31, 2025 was about 301,000 and was the main driver of population growth in every state and territory.
The international education sector is large enough that any shift in student settings can matter well beyond immigration politics. The Education Department says international education generated almost A$55.0 billion for the Australian economy in 2025, and 680,582 international students were studying in Australia in the year to May 2026, down 6.9% from a year earlier.
The exact mechanism is still unclear. Reporting has not yet pinned down whether the government will impose a blanket ban on dependents, narrow the rule to some visa subclasses, or carve out research or higher-value categories.
By the numbers
- A$55.0 billion - international education export income in 2025
- 680,582 - international students in Australia in the year to May 2026
- 45,000 - dependent or family-member visas out of more than 337,000 student visas granted in the prior year
Yes, but: The final scope is still unresolved, and reporting does not yet confirm whether the government will use a blanket ban or a narrower restriction.
What's next: Burke is expected to announce the overhaul at the National Press Club in Canberra on Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026.