Key Points
- The federal government will unveil a new migration strategy next week.
- Anthony Albanese says the migration system needs to work "in the interests of all Australians".
- A crackdown on abuses of Australia's intake of international students will form part of the plan.
Immigration will be scaled back to what are considered "sustainable" levels, hand-in-hand with a crackdown on abuses of Australia's intake of international students.
The impending overhaul follows a once-in-a-generation review that determined and in need of a 10-year rebuild, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.
"What we know, is that we need to have a migration system that enables Australia to get the skills that we need but make sure the system is working in the interests of all Australians," he told reporters in Sydney on Saturday.
"Well, we are determined to fix this."
Albanese said there was always going to be a jump in immigration following COVID-19 although current projections were lower than those prior to Australia shutting its borders during the pandemic.
Treasury forecasts also showed the intake is expected to decline substantially over the coming financial year.
But the review, conducted by former Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet head Martin Parkinson, had found concerning abuses of Australia's acceptance of international students, the prime minister said.
"People are coming here, enrolling in courses that don't really add substantially to either their skills base or to the national interest here," he said.
"So, it's not in the interests of our neighbours, nor is it in the interests of Australia, that there not be a crackdown on this.
"We're determined to do that."
While the government already has a blueprint for increased housing and a $120 billion infrastructure rollout, the full details of the immigration overhaul, including tougher rules for temporary visa holders, are expected to be unveiled on Monday by Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil.
A Treasury estimate earlier this year of Australia's net immigration intake for 2022/23 at a tick more than 400,000 has been well exceeded.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the nation grew 2.2 per cent to 26.5 million people in the 12 months to 31 March, or roughly the period following the closure of international borders,
Net overseas migration accounted for 81 per cent of this growth and added 454,400 people.
Sixth former immigration detainee arrested
The preliminary announcement comes as an Eritrean-born man was expected on Saturday to appear in court as the sixth former immigration detainee arrested for allegedly failing to comply with a curfew.
The AFP arrested and charged the 36-year-old on Friday night after he was located in inner Melbourne.
It will be alleged the man breached the conditions of his Commonwealth visa by failing to observe his residential curfew obligations, with the offence attracting a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $93,900 fine.
The government has been scrambling to respond to , which overturned 20 years of legal precedent to rule indefinite custody of detainees unlawful when there was no prospect of resettlement.
But Albanese said the government had a legal obligation to respond to the court's decision and had no interest in risking the consequences of pre-empting such processes.
He said the government had received very clear and explicit advice on the issue but despite making it available to the Opposition, it had been ignored.
