Demonstrators hold a banner during the ‘March for Australia’ anti-immigration rally, in Sydney, Australia, on August 31, 2025.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

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Canberra:

Australia is planning to ban foreigners from buying established houses for the next two years. The move is part of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese-led government’s election pitch to tackle surging home prices. The move is likely to affect a large number of Indians who go to Australia for their higher education and later settle there. 

Australia’s Housing Minister Clare O’Neil announced that from April 1, foreign investors will be banned from buying established property until March 31, 2027.

After the deadline, the restriction will be reviewed to determine whether it should be extended, she noted, adding that the tax office will be given extra funding to help enforce the ban.

Housing Crisis In Australia

Australia’s housing is some of the most unaffordable in the world. With elections in Australia set to be held later this year, soaring property prices are likely to be the key issue amid a broader cost-of-living crisis, especially among young voters who fear they’ll never be able to buy a home. Rents have also been climbing in the country in recent years.

In Sydney, housing values have jumped almost 70 per cent over the past 10 years, with the median dwelling price now around A$1.2 million ($762,000), Bloomberg reported quoting property consultancy CoreLogic Inc.

Per figures issued by the Australian Taxation Office, overseas investors bought A$4.9 billion of residential real estate – including vacant land, and new and established dwellings – in the 12 months ended June 30, 2023.

Who Will Be Affected

Under the new rule, foreign investors, including temporary residents such as international students and overseas companies, will be restricted from buying established residential properties during the two-year period. 

However, they will still be able to purchase new dwellings to encourage housing supply and a carve-out will also be provided for workers on a Pacific visa scheme.

Additionally, the government is also planning to curb land banking by foreign investors, requiring them to develop vacant land within a set timeframe. 

Australia has been a preferred choice for Indian students aiming to pursue top-notch education and bright career prospects overseas. In 2023-24, India remained the leading source country for immigrants to Australia.

Labor Replicates Coalition Policy

The Labor government’s move to ban foreign purchases of established houses matches a pledge by opposition leader Peter Dutton made last year. An election must be held by May 17, and polls show it will be a close fight, with cost-of-living concerns and housing among the top three issues.
 

New Delhi:

Australia has announced that it will be limiting its international student intake to 2.7 lakh in 2025 in a bid to tackle record levels of migration that has led to skyrocketing house rental prices.

The limit includes higher education courses as well as vocational education and training courses, Australia’s Education Minister Jason Clare said today.

The move is set to impact Indian students hoping to go abroad for higher education, especially those from Punjab which accounts for a large number of such students.

“In June 2022, Australia capped the foreign student intake at 5.10 lakh. This number was reduced to 3.75 lakh in 2023. Now they have reduced the annual planning levels further. These levels are accorded to individual universities for all international students and not just for Indian students. The universities will distribute the quotas country wise then state wise,”  Sunil Jaggi, a member of Migration Agents Registration Authority of Australia, said.

“The students who were preparing to take admission for the February intake will get affected by this announcement. Students from Punjab will be worst affected,” he further said.

“This will affect my career. My family is taking loans for my education as the cost of studying in Australia is quite high,” a student from Haryana, who wishes to study nursing in Australia, said.

“The Indian government must put forward students’ point of view to the Australian government,” another student said.

Notably, the Australian Education Minister on a visit to India last year had signed an agreement to expand in-country access to Australian higher education institutions for Indian students.

According to India’s Ministry of External Affairs, around 1.22 lakh students from the country study in Australia. India’s Quad partner is the fourth most popular destination for Indian students studying abroad, after Canada, the US and the UK.

Australia also increased its non-refundable visa fee for foreign students from AUD 710 to AUD 1,600, another measure that seemingly aims to reduce migration levels.

Canada has also announced new restrictions on its temporary foreign workers’ programme. Starting September 26, businesses will only be allowed to fill up to 10 per cent of their workforce with low-wage foreign workers, down from the previous 20 per cent. The decision to limit the number of low-wage foreign workers comes in response to rising unemployment rates in Canada. The overall unemployment rate has climbed to 6.4 per cent, with the rate for younger workers reaching 14.2 per cent.