What's changed, and what's still unconfirmed

Short, dated notes on Australian visa and immigration changes, each tagged by how settled it is. The blog holds our lasting guides. Here, we track policy from first report to confirmed law.
Announced
18 September 2026

Visiting while a partner visa is pending gets easier, but the onshore route closes

Minister Tony Burke addressed partner visa waiting times at the National Press Club on 17 September 2026. The visitor visa 'no further stay' change should make it easier for a partner to visit Australia while an offshore partner visa (309 or 300) is decided. It also closes a route: once a visitor visa carries the condition, applying for the onshore partner visa (820) after arriving on it won't be possible. A visitor visa held right now isn't affected. No start date has been given, so nothing has changed for partner visa applications today.
Announced
18 September 2026

Visitor visas get easier to grant, with a 'no further stay' condition attached

At the National Press Club on 17 September 2026, Minister Tony Burke said a 'no further stay' condition will be attached to visitor visas, meant to make them easier to get, not harder. It applies to all visitor visas: the standard visitor visa (600), the free eVisitor (651), and the ETA (601). It does not apply to protection applications, and it has no effect on anyone already in Australia. No start date has been given, so nothing has changed for anyone holding or applying for a visitor visa today.
Announced
18 September 2026

Second and third year working holiday visas move to a ballot

At the National Press Club on 17 September 2026, the government announced a ballot for second and third year working holiday visas (subclasses 417 and 462): 45,000 places for the second year, against about 57,000 who qualified last year, and 5,000 for the third year, against about 31,000 last year. The regional work requirement (88 days for the second year, six months for the third) is unchanged and still comes first. The government also said it will stabilise Working Holiday Maker application processing to three months; UK applications will keep being processed at the slower pace of recent months. The ballot needs a regulation that hasn't been made, so it has no start date and nothing has changed for it yet. The processing change needs no regulation, so it has no start date to wait for and may already be underway.