Ahead of the Federal election in May, the Coalition, Labor and Greens have all announced their plans concerning refugees, immigration and visas. 

The Labor government, if elected, is planning to increase Australia’s humanitarian intake to 27,000 refugees a year. However, the Coalition have claimed that this initiative will cost Australia $6 billion over 10 years. 

After Morrison’s visit in March, the Coalition is planning to close the Christmas Island detention centre by July.  

Moreover, the Greens have been vocal about their concerns with offshore detention centres as they plan to bring all asylum seekers to the mainland.  The centres will only be in use for up to seven days. 

The Greens will also boost humanitarian intake to 50,000 refugees a year. 

Concerning migration and congestion, the Coalition have slashed the cap on permanent migration from 190,000 to 160,000 to reduce congestion. 

Even though this is a significant decrease, Labor agreed that this won’t make much of a difference as this year’s actual intake was only 162,000. 

The Coalition have also announced new initiatives to reduce congestion in Sydney and Melbourne, by offering incentives for new migrants and overseas students to move to regional areas. Incentives include pathways to permanent residency, new visas and scholarships. 

Temporary visas for migrants and their families have also been a key issue. 

The Coalition is planning to speed up the processing times for visas in areas of skills shortages while Labor announced that they want to put a break on the growth of temporary work visas. 

The Coalition recently announced new 5 and 10 year parent visas, but they are only limited to one set of parents. 

In contrast, Labor promised that they will cut the parent visa fee and also allow both sets of parents to access the visas. However, the Coalition has described this initiative as “unsustainable” and a “cruel hoax”. 

The Greens have also promised a better visa system for family reunion on Australia.