Australia’s Proposed Migration Overhaul Could Strip Work Rights After Protection Visa Refusals

A major overhaul of Australia’s migration system that was expected to be announced in early August was delayed, and one proposal that emerged from the government’s deliberations could have significant consequences for thousands of temporary migrants, including Indian nationals.

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke had been scheduled to address the National Press Club on 6 August, where he was expected to unveil broader changes aimed at reducing net overseas migration. The appearance was postponed after elements of the package were not finalised, with the government saying the speech would be rescheduled.

Since then, details of what has been under consideration have emerged.

According to ABC reporting based on government and cabinet sources, one of the central proposals would see temporary migrants who apply for protection lose their work rights once their Protection visa claim has been rejected.

For Australia’s Indian community, this is not a remote policy debate.

The latest Department of Home Affairs figures show that Indian nationals were the second-largest nationality lodging onshore Protection visa applications in July 2026.

Indians among the largest group of applicants

Australia received 1,817 onshore Protection visa applications in July. Chinese nationals accounted for the largest group, with 207 applications. They were followed closely by 189 applicants from India, ahead of Fiji with 143, Indonesia with 98 and Pakistan with 87.

The same monthly report also shows how frequently Indian claims are unsuccessful. During July, Home Affairs recorded 37 Indian nationals as having been granted a final Protection visa and 137 as not having been granted one, producing an official grant rate of 21.26 per cent for Indian cases decided during the reporting period.

Those figures do not mean that the 189 Indian applications lodged in July were the same applications decided that month. Protection decisions can relate to claims lodged earlier.

They do, however, demonstrate why any rule linking a refused protection claim to the loss of work rights could have a noticeable impact on Indian nationals.

What exactly is the government considering?

The reported proposal is aimed primarily at temporary migrants who enter Australia legally, often initially on student, visitor or other temporary visas, and later make an onshore claim for protection.

A Protection visa is not another pathway for extending a temporary stay. It is intended for people who face persecution or a real risk of significant harm if returned to their home country.

Under the system as it currently operates, a person who makes an eligible visa application may be able to remain lawfully in Australia on a bridging visa while the application, and in some circumstances a review, is being resolved.
Work rights are not identical for every bridging visa holder. They depend on the particular visa and conditions imposed. Home Affairs advises visa holders to check their grant letter or Visa Entitlement Verification Online (VEVO) to determine whether they are permitted to work.

What the government is reportedly considering would change the equation for some refused protection applicants.
Rather than continuing to work while challenging an initial refusal, the proposal would remove work rights following rejection of the protection claim, creating a much stronger incentive for people without a successful claim to leave Australia.

The exact legal mechanism, exemptions and point at which work rights would cease have not yet been publicly announced.

Why is the government targeting protection claims?

The government’s concern is not principally with people ultimately found to require Australia’s protection.
It is focused on what officials believe is the misuse of the system by some temporary migrants who lodge weak or unfounded protection claims in order to extend their time in Australia.

ABC reported that around 1,580 protection applications are being lodged onshore each month, with China, India and Malaysia among the major source countries. The government is concerned that lengthy review processes can allow unsuccessful applicants to remain in Australia for years.

Appeals can take years

One reason the issue has attracted government attention is the length of time a protection matter can remain within Australia’s review system. A person whose Protection visa is refused may, depending on their circumstances and the decision made, have rights to merits review before the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) and potentially judicial review through the courts.

ABC reported that as of June, almost 37,000 rejected protection claims were before the ART. That backlog is central to the government’s argument. If someone can remain and work in Australia for several years after an initial refusal while reviews proceed, the government believes the system can create an incentive for people without genuine protection claims to use the appeals process to prolong their stay.

But removing work rights creates another problem.

The policy also carries a practical risk. Former senior immigration officials and migration specialists have warned that taking away lawful employment rights does not necessarily make people disappear from Australia.

Former Home Affairs secretary Michael Pezzullo told the ABC that poorly designed changes could drive some people towards underground employment.

That distinction matters.

The existence of unsuccessful or fraudulent protection claims does not mean every rejected applicant is abusing the system. Australian administrative review exists precisely because government decisions can be reconsidered and, in some cases, overturned.

For a genuine applicant pursuing a legitimate review, losing the ability to earn an income could mean spending years unable to legally support themselves while waiting for the system to determine whether the original decision was correct. It could also increase vulnerability to cash-in-hand employment and workplace exploitation.

Part of a much bigger migration reset

The proposed protection changes are only one element of a broader migration package considered by the Albanese government. Other measures canvassed have included restrictions on some family visa applications, changes affecting working holiday-makers and limits on appeal rights. Some elements have generated concern from migration specialists and business groups.

The government is seeking to bring net overseas migration towards 225,000 by 2027-28, after net overseas migration exceeded half a million in 2023.

Burke has already made a separate change to skilled visa processing priorities, giving greater priority to certain applicants who are already in Australia rather than bringing additional workers from overseas. The emerging policy direction therefore appears to have two sides: create clearer pathways for temporary migrants Australia wants to retain, while making it harder for those without an ongoing visa pathway to remain indefinitely.

What does this mean for Indian visa holders right now?

For now, nothing has changed simply because the proposal has been reported. No applicant should assume that their current work rights have been cancelled, and a person with a Protection visa application or review underway should continue to comply with the conditions of the visa they actually hold.

Bridging visa holders can confirm their current conditions through VEVO.

For Indian nationals, the latest statistics make the forthcoming decision particularly relevant.
India accounted for more than one in ten onshore Protection visa applications lodged in July, and Indian nationals were also the second-largest nationality among applicants recorded as not receiving a final Protection visa during the month.

If the government proceeds with the reported work-rights restriction, the impact will therefore extend well beyond an abstract debate about migration numbers.

It could determine whether people who have already received an initial protection refusal can continue earning an income while they exercise whatever review rights remain available to them.

That is why the detail matters.

Tony Burke unveiled the government’s migration package at the National Press Club on 17 September, but he did not set out the detail of the work-rights proposal. He said changes to deal with weak protection claims would need new legislation. Until such a law is passed, the proposal to remove work rights remains exactly that, a proposal, not current Australian migration law.

But for the roughly 200 Indian nationals lodging onshore Protection visa applications each month, it is one change worth watching closely.