At the National Press Club on 17 September 2026, Minister Tony Burke announced a change to visitor visas.
What's changing
A 'no further stay' condition will be attached to visitor visas, meant to make them easier to get, not harder. Burke said the change fixes a double standard: a partner who arrived on a visitor visa and applied for another visa while in Australia could get a bridging visa and stay, while a partner applying from overseas waited years, and that made it harder for the Department to grant genuine visitor visas at all. 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.
Who this affects
Anyone applying for a visitor visa in future, once the condition takes effect. It also affects some partner visa applicants directly: see our partner visa update.
What it means for your visa
If you already hold a visitor visa, this change doesn't apply to it. If you're applying now, nothing has changed yet either: the condition only affects visas granted after a start date is set, and none has been given.
Nothing has started
No start date has been given. Read our explainer for the full announcement, or the government's release directly.