Immigration.
Capped.
Controlled.
By visa.
Net overseas migration runs at a permanent ceiling of 60,000 to 80,000 people per year, down from 395,000 in 2023–24. The reduction is achieved through stream-by-stream caps applied at the visa level rather than through the overheated political rhetoric that previous governments used as a substitute for control.
The transition is concentrated in the first year, in which the ART backlog is cleared and existing temporary visa-holders age out under their original terms. NOM in 2025–26 reaches a transitional low of approximately 50,000 before settling into the steady-state ceiling of 60,000–80,000 from 2027 onwards.
The per-stream caps
| Stream | Previous (annual) | New (annual) |
|---|---|---|
| Permanent skilled visas | 129,000 | 5,000 |
| Family reunion | 52,500 | 15,000 |
| Humanitarian | 20,000 | open assessment, no quota, expedited |
| Temporary university students | 260,000 | 20,000 |
| Temporary workers | 100,000 | 2,000 |
| Working holidaymakers | 50,000 | 45,000 |
| Special-cohort nurses | 50,000 | 15,000 PR (with 35,000 transition exits) |
Clearing the ART backlog
A $1 billion investment from the Sovereign Wealth Fund over twenty years — $50 million per year — clears the 40,581 ART protection-case backlog and reduces processing time from 18 months to 1–2 weeks. Early-payout exit packages of approximately $3,000 per case make the fund self-financing as voluntary departures replace contested deportations.
The cap reduces the non-citizen population by 1–1.2 million by 2030. Housing pressure, wage suppression in low-skill sectors, and the strain on Healthcoverall's first decade are all materially reduced.