The key ingredient missing from all parties’ immigration policies

Wednesday 7 October 2026

We now have the immigration policies (“cuts”) from Labor, the Coalition, and One Nation, which all miss one vital ingredient to ensure that cuts to net overseas migration (NOM) are enduring.

Below is a quick summary of each party’s policies, followed by an explanation of the common problem.

Labor:

Labor has announced the weakest immigration reforms. They are essentially integrity measures designed to bring NOM levels down to what the federal budget already projects – i.e., 245,000 in 2026-27 and then 225,000 a year thereafter.

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About the author

Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.