Australian Immigration Statistics 2026: The Numbers People Get Wrong

Australia's headline immigration numbers for 2026 — the 185,000-place Migration Program, 2.97 million temporary visa holders, net overseas migration, the 1 July fee rise, processing times and agent sanctions — every figure sourced and dated. Figures as at September 2026.

Read the full guide, with official sources →

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Chapters

  1. 0:00 185,000. 2.97 million. 305,570.
  2. 0:21 The 2026-27 program: 185,000 places
  3. 0:38 Regional visas cut:
  4. 0:51 2018-19: 160,323 delivered,
  5. 1:10 Same visa: 16 days median,
  6. 1:21 Temporary vs permanent:
  7. 1:37 Every visa fee rose 25%
  8. 1:52 Exceptions to the fee rise
  9. 2:09 61 agents sanctioned since 2021-22.
  10. 2:24 Sanctions since 2021-22:
  11. 2:37 Where students come from
  12. 2:52 Never add these numbers together.
  13. 3:04 Where to read more

Transcript

Australia's permanent Migration Program is 185,000 places this year. There are 2.97 million people here on temporary visas. And net overseas migration was 305,570. Three numbers, three different things.

The permanent Migration Program offers 185,000 places for 2026-27. Of that, 132,240 sit in the Skill stream, and 52,460 in Family, with 300 for Special Eligibility.

The biggest single change this year came with no published reason. The Regional visa category was cut from 33,000 places to 14,110, and Home Affairs explained every other change except this one.

The program hasn't always hit its target. In 2018-19, only 160,323 places were delivered against a planned 190,000 — a shortfall of 29,677. The last three years have landed within 4 places of target.

The published median hides a lot. A student visa's median processing time is 16 days — but the slowest 1 in 10 applicants wait 214 days.

Temporary visas and permanent visas clear at completely different speeds. In 2024-25, 97.6 percent of temporary applications were finalised within the year. For permanent visas, it was 53.4 percent.

Every Australian visa application charge rose by exactly 25 percent on 1 July 2026. A subclass 189 visa went from $4,910 to $6,135.

Not every charge moved the same way. A former subclass 300 holder pays just $1,955 for the follow-on partner visa, not $11,710. A Skilled Regional 887 visa is only $630.

61 registered migration agents have been sanctioned since 2021-22 — about 1 in 314 each year. The regulator's own six-monthly activity report hasn't been published since the period ending June 2024.

The sequence, since 2021-22: 13 sanctions, dropping to 4 in 2022-23, then climbing to 20 by 2024-25, and 14 so far in the year to date.

The two intakes come from different places. Among international students, China is 23 percent, India 16, Nepal 9, Vietnam 5, and Bangladesh 4 — just over half the total between five countries.

The mistake to avoid: never add these numbers together. A permanent visa grant, a temporary visa holder, and a net migration count are three separate measurements of three separate things.

The full guide, with the official sources, is on migratio.com.au. The link is in the description.

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