Opposition Leader Angus Taylor has unveiled the Coalition’s migration policy at a press conference in Sydney, promising that a Coalition government would cut net overseas migration to about 100,000 in its first year and then link the intake to the number of homes built.
The headline figure had been reported by Nine newspapers before Mr Taylor spoke on Tuesday 6 October, Guardian Australia said. By the time the detail was released, Labor had already attacked it, with one minister calling cuts on that scale “absolutely catastrophic” for the economy.
Mr Taylor began the press conference by offering his condolences over the soldier who died in training in the Northern Territory, before turning to the policy.
The Coalition would cut net overseas migration to about 100,000 in its first year. Is that level too low, about right or too high?
Choose an answer, then select Vote.
What the Coalition Is Promising
Under the policy, net overseas migration would fall to about 100,000 in the first year of a Coalition government, according to the ABC and Guardian Australia. After that, the intake would be tied to housing completions, a link Mr Taylor had announced before Tuesday’s press conference. The number of homes actually built would then decide how many people the country takes in, rather than a figure fixed in advance.
Foreign students and people who overstay their visas are also part of the Coalition’s crackdown, Guardian Australia reported.
Mr Taylor presented the plan as a change in both size and standards. “I’ve said from day one that there is a better way. And that means lowering the numbers and raising the standards and we will do both,” he said, as reported by the ABC.
The housing test arrives with housing costs already under pressure, and with mortgage holders still absorbing last week’s rate rise.
How It Compares With Labor and One Nation
The Coalition’s first-year number is well below the government’s own. Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke has outlined a Labor plan that brings net overseas migration down to 245,000 this financial year and 225,000 in 2027-28, Guardian Australia reported.
One Nation wants to limit net arrivals to 130,000 a year, after a brief period of net negative migration, according to the same report. Guardian Australia reported the Coalition’s announcement as the party works to fend off a rise in support for One Nation.
On those figures, the Coalition’s first-year target would sit below both Labor’s levels and One Nation’s annual limit, although One Nation’s plan opens with a period in which more people would leave the country than arrive.
The First Reactions
Labor’s response came before the policy had been released. Speaking ahead of the announcement, Veterans’ Affairs Minister Matt Keogh said: “At those sorts of numbers, that is absolutely catastrophic for the Australian economy and the services that Australians rely on.”
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson accused the Coalition of borrowing her party’s policy. “The Coalition has turned up late to the grand final after both teams have headed back to the changerooms, waving a photocopy of One Nation’s immigration policy,” she wrote on X, as reported by Guardian Australia.
Within the Liberal Party, one MP sounded a note of caution. “You can’t just slash immigration altogether,” Liberal MP Andrew Wallace told Channel Nine, Guardian Australia reported.
What Happens Before an Election
The plan is an opposition policy, not law. Its cuts would apply only if the Coalition won government at the next federal election, and until then net overseas migration remains a matter for Labor, whose levels Mr Burke has already set out.
Voters now have three figures in front of them, and three ways of setting the intake: Labor’s annual levels, the Coalition’s housing test and One Nation’s yearly cap.
The policy was announced late on Tuesday morning, and the story is still developing.
Sources: ABC News, “Federal politics live: Coalition expected to cut migration to 100,000 in first year if elected”, 6 October 2026 (https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-06/federal-politics-live-blog-coalition-migration-oct-6/107230622); Guardian Australia, “Coalition set to unveil dramatically deeper cuts to overseas migration as it fends off One Nation’s rise”, 6 October 2026 (https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/oct/06/coalition-immigration-policy-angus-taylor-one-nation-labor-ntwnfb)
Photo: Kgbo, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
A steel house frame under construction in Sherwood, Brisbane, photographed in 2023. This photograph is illustrative; it is not connected to the Coalition’s policy announcement.
