Ten questions, four parties, summarised from the public record — platforms, budget papers, press club addresses and ministerial statements — with the check date on the table. The Sovereign Australia column is deliberately open: the position is in development, and the one commitment already made is the data itself. Background: the immigration memo and the policy page.
Checked 27 August 2026. Sources: 2026–27 Budget papers and Department of Home Affairs planning levels; ABS net overseas migration release, June 2026; party platforms and public statements as reported, including SBS News and ABC News reporting of 20–27 August 2026 on the humanitarian intake and the One Nation cap.
| Issue | Sovereign Australia | Labor | Coalition | One Nation | Greens |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall migration level Federal | Position in development. | Target: net overseas migration cut from about 300,000 to 225,000 by 2028. The detailed overhaul is delayed — a planned announcement was pulled in August with the caucus still debating the position. Says migration is already down about 45 per cent from its peak. | No policy yet — the Coalition says its immigration policy will not be released in 2026, and will be set for the 2028 election. Earlier language pointed to a target “well under 200,000”. | A hard cap of 130,000 a year, confirmed by the party as a net overseas migration figure, to “ease pressure on housing, wages and infrastructure”. A new MP’s suggestion that essential temporary workers would sit above the cap was corrected by the party, which reaffirmed the 130,000. | The only party not proposing a cut to overall numbers. States Australia “benefits from immigration”. |
| Permanent program Federal | Position in development. | Capped at 185,000 places for 2026–27 — 132,240 of them (71 per cent) for skills. 129,590 places prioritised for people already in Australia. | Has not published a permanent program number of its own. | The 130,000 cap is a net overseas migration figure, per the party’s clarification this week; no separate permanent program number published. | No cut proposed; priority given instead to refugees and family reunion. |
| The link to housing Federal | Position in development. | Minister Burke says numbers must be “tailored” to housing supply, but warns going at migration the wrong way can make housing worse. Primary fix remains supply — construction workers, state incentives, social housing. | Would cap net overseas migration each year at the number of new homes completed the year before. “Australia should only bring in as many people as it can house.” | Directly links migration to the housing crisis; says it will cut demand for housing and rentals by “substantially” lowering immigration. | Rejects the migration–housing link altogether; points to renter protections, public and affordable supply, and taxing wealthy property investors. |
| International students Federal | Position in development. | A national planning level of 295,000 places for 2026, described as “managed” and “sustainable” growth. | Nationals leader Matt Canavan has called the student visa system a “total scam” needing to be “scaled back”; no figure confirmed. | Would close what it calls a “visa loophole” turning study into a “backdoor to permanent residency or low-wage labour”. | Not a major focus; rejects the claim that students drive the housing crisis, calling it scapegoating. |
| Values and visa conditions Federal | Position in development. | New visa refusal and cancellation powers relating to antisemitism, hate and extremism funded in the 2026–27 Budget. | An “Australian values migration plan” — a values statement covering freedom of religion, English as the national language and a “fair go”, made a legally binding visa condition, with removal for those who breach it. | Would refuse entry to migrants from nations it says foster “extremist ideologies” incompatible with Australian values. | No values test proposed. |
| Deportation and enforcement Federal | Position in development. | $167.4 million over four years for system integrity, migrant worker education and student visa scrutiny. | Has vowed a crackdown on “overstayers”, “unfounded asylum claims” and greater security screening of “high-risk individuals”. | Would deport 75,000 people it says are illegal migrants. | Opposes expanded removal powers; wants an end to offshore detention. |
| Citizenship and welfare access Federal | Position in development. | No change proposed to current waiting periods. | No separate waiting-period policy published. | An eight-year wait before new arrivals can access citizenship or welfare. | No change proposed; opposes lengthening waits. |
| Refugees and humanitarian intake Federal | Position in development. | The 20,000 humanitarian intake was forecast to lapse to 13,750 from 2027–28; after public backlash the Prime Minister confirmed on 27 August that 20,000 “remains government policy and will be continued in future years”. | No increase proposed. | Would withdraw from the UN Refugee Convention, arguing Australia should not be “dictated to by foreign organisations”. | Would expand the humanitarian intake to 50,000 places a year, end offshore detention, and stop families being separated by immigration processes. |
| Where the numbers actually sit Federal | Position in development. | Net overseas migration was 301,000 in 2025 (ABS), down from 306,000 — above Labor’s own target. Budget forecasts: 245,000 in 2026–27, 225,000 from 2027–28. | Argues current levels remain “unsustainable”. | Argues current levels remain “unsustainable”. | Argues the level is not the problem and that migrants are being scapegoated for a housing crisis they did not cause. |
| What is measured, and how Federal | The one commitment already made: live data. Arrivals, departures, visa holders by class and every Australian abroad, published as a running series on the Data & Metrics door instead of a quarterly figure reconciled months later. Policy set against what is actually happening, not a forecast. | Net overseas migration published quarterly by the ABS, with a substantial lag; arrivals and departures reconciled after the fact. | No measurement reform proposed. | No measurement reform proposed. | No measurement reform proposed. |
Every other column states a number. Sovereign Australia does not, yet — and the order is deliberate: measurement first, the number follows. The one commitment already made is the data itself — every arrival and departure, every visa holder by class, every overstay and every Australian abroad, published live for everyone on the Data & Metrics door of the People’s Portal, as the department updates its own records rather than as a quarterly figure reconciled months later. When the number is set, it will be set in public, against data everyone can see. Background and the numbers so far: the immigration memo.