Overview
- Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke confirmed on Sunday that working‑holiday visas are still being processed but at a slower pace, and the Department of Home Affairs website shows applications from 24 capped countries have been paused for the program year.
- The pause was posted quietly on the department site and affects most countries on the capped subclass 462 list, leaving five partner countries still accepting applications under their existing rules.
- Cabinet is still finalising other migration measures and has not announced any firm policy, although reports say ministers have discussed tougher family and temporary‑visa rules and the possible removal of work rights for some protection applicants.
- Business and mining groups warn that cutting temporary and skilled migrant access could worsen labour shortages for regional farms, construction and major projects, while the government points to the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme as the principal source of agricultural workers.
- More than 160 charities, migrant and community groups have written to the prime minister opposing reported plans to strip work rights from asylum seekers, saying the move would increase exploitation and push people into unsafe cash‑in‑hand jobs while reforms continue to be debated.