Australia’s migration debate took another sharp turn today after One Nation’s immigration spokesperson, MP David Farley, told ABC Radio that the party is “open to” capping or temporarily suspending partner- and child-visa grants for Australian citizens. The statement expands on the minor party’s broader policy—released yesterday—to drive net-negative migration for three years by slashing temporary and student arrivals by 750,000 places. While Farley insisted any cap would depend on the capacity of hospitals, schools and housing, former Immigration Department deputy secretary Abul Rizvi warned that limiting visas for immediate family members would be unlawful under section 87 of the Migration Act and would deepen an existing backlog of roughly 120,000 partner applications. Business groups also cautioned that a family-visa freeze would make Australia a harder sell for globally-mobile talent weighing assignments in Asia-Pacific headquarters. Employers in mining, technology and healthcare already struggle to attract senior candidates because of schooling and spousal-work-rights concerns. A formal pause could force multinationals to divert high-value projects to Singapore or Dubai, and complicate retention strategies for staff who relocated under the Temporary Skills Shortage (subclass 482) visa assuming a clear family pathway. With federal Labor yet to unveil its long-awaited migration strategy, Farley’s comments raise the political stakes ahead of the October parliamentary sitting. International HR teams should monitor the next fortnight closely; if One Nation’s proposal gains cross-bench momentum, contingency planning for split-family assignments and additional housing allowances may become essential.
Source: ABC News
