If you hold a temporary visa and want to buy a home in Australia, two separate sets of rules apply to you. One governs whether you can enter and stay in the country. The other governs whether you can buy property here. The Federal Government’s latest migration reforms change the first set of rules. They do not, on their own, change the second. Understanding how the two interact is essential before purchasing while on a temporary visa.
This article explains the migration changes announced by Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke at the National Press Club on 17 September 2026, and what they mean for buying property in Australia on a temporary visa.
Migration Reform in Brief
The government wants to reduce net overseas migration to 245,000 in 2026-27 and 225,000 in 2027-28. Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows net overseas migration was 292,100 for the year ending 31 March 2026, down 5.6 per cent from 309,500 the previous year. The government says this is 47 per cent below the post-pandemic peak.
The reforms target three questions: who arrives, who stays and who leaves. For property buyers, the most relevant changes concern skilled migration, international students, working holiday makers, visitor visas and compliance.
Skilled Migration and Housing Trades
The skilled migration points test will be redesigned to give greater weight to trade qualifications in housing and construction. Under the proposal, some housing-related trade qualifications may carry weighting equivalent to a university degree. Priority visa processing will expand across healthcare, construction and housing trades, education, defence and law enforcement, resources, and agriculture, aquaculture and fisheries.
For temporary visa holders in these sectors, faster processing may shorten the gap between arriving and applying for permanent residence. That matters for property because a permanent resident who is ordinarily resident in Australia is generally not a foreign person for FIRB purposes. A permanent resident who is not ordinarily resident in Australia can still be a foreign person. Immigration advice on your specific visa pathway should come from a registered migration agent or immigration lawyer.
International Students and Dependants
Future international students and graduate visa applicants will generally be unable to include family members as secondary applicants. Exemptions are expected for certain cohorts, including PhD candidates and applicants from Pacific and ASEAN countries. New qualification progression rules will also apply, with students generally expected to move to a higher-level qualification rather than laterally or downward to extend their stay.
This affects parents overseas who plan to buy a property for a child studying in Australia. If the child is the visa holder and the parent is the buyer, the parent’s own foreign person status determines the FIRB position, not the child’s student visa. If the student buys in their own name, they are generally a foreign person for FIRB purposes while on a temporary visa.
Working Holiday Makers and Visitor Visas
The government will introduce a ballot for second and third year Working Holiday Maker visas. Proposed annual caps are approximately 45,000 second-year places, against around 57,000 people who qualified last year, and approximately 5,000 third-year places, against around 31,000. The regional work requirement still applies before an applicant can enter the ballot. The government expects processing times to stabilise at approximately three months, although United Kingdom applications may continue to be processed differently.
A ‘No Further Stay’ condition will be introduced for all future visitor visas. The government intends this to reinforce the temporary nature of visitor visas and to limit onshore applications for other visas by visitor visa holders. If you plan to apply for another visa from within Australia, obtain migration advice before you travel on a visitor visa.
Compliance and Overstayers
The government plans an additional 100 compliance officers, approximately 250 additional detention beds and expanded detention and removal capacity. The Minister referenced an estimated 77,000 visa overstayers and indicated compliance arrangements will move closer to the pre-2015 model, under which unlawful non-citizens are detained and encouraged to depart voluntarily within a relatively short timeframe.
For property buyers, an expired visa does not of itself extinguish a property interest. It can, however, affect your ongoing obligations under your foreign investment approval and any future application. Some approval conditions require the property to be sold within a set period after your circumstances change. Check the conditions of your approval and seek advice promptly if your circumstances change.
What This Means for FIRB Eligibility
Migration reform and FIRB rules are separate regimes. The Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975 and the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Regulation 2015 govern foreign investment in Australian property. The migration changes do not alter the definition of a foreign person, and they do not change the types of property a foreign person can buy.
Under the current settings, from 1 April 2025 to 30 June 2029, foreign persons are generally banned from purchasing established dwellings. Temporary residents can still apply for approval to purchase vacant land or new dwellings. The ATO guidance on foreign person status sets out how the rules apply. The ban on established dwellings is Government policy, set out in Treasury’s Guidance Note 6 and applied by the ATO when it assesses applications.
A temporary resident generally needs to apply for and receive foreign investment approval before purchasing residential property in Australia. Guidance Note 6: Residential Land confirms this requirement. The types of property a foreign person can buy are limited, and each application is assessed on its facts.
FIRB application fees are indexed annually. Current fee information is confirmed with each engagement and the applicable amount is verified before lodgement.
Off-the-Plan Purchases and Developer Certificates
Developers selling new dwellings to foreign buyers, including off-the-plan, can apply for a new or near-new dwelling exemption certificate. A foreign person who buys a dwelling covered by the certificate does not need to apply for individual foreign investment approval. The developer can sell no more than 50 per cent of the dwellings in the development to foreign persons under the certificate. The mechanism is set out in the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Regulation 2015 and explained in the ATO guidance on exemption certificates for property developers.
If you are buying off-the-plan as a temporary resident, ask the developer for a copy of its exemption certificate and confirm that it covers your lot. If it does, you may not need a separate approval. If it does not, you will need your own FIRB application.
Planning Your Purchase
Migration reform may change your long-term visa prospects, but it does not change the FIRB rules that apply today. If you hold a temporary visa and want to buy property in Australia, we recommend the following steps:
- Confirm whether you are a foreign person for FIRB purposes
- Identify whether the property is an established dwelling, new dwelling or vacant land
- Apply for FIRB approval before signing an unconditional contract
- Budget for application fees, which are indexed annually
- Budget for foreign purchaser additional duty and any absentee land tax surcharge in the relevant state or territory
- Seek tax advice from a registered tax agent and immigration advice from a registered migration agent
Many of the announced migration measures require legislative amendments, changes to Ministerial Directions or further policy development. Their timing, scope and final form may change. Current visa holders are expected to be largely unaffected by measures that apply to new applications only, but you should monitor implementation.
We prepare and lodge FIRB applications for temporary residents, overseas buyers and foreign corporations. We do not guarantee approval outcomes, because each application is assessed on its merits under Australia’s foreign investment framework. What we do is prepare and lodge your application correctly, and advise you on compliance.
This information is general in nature and FIRB rules change frequently. Contact us for advice specific to your situation.
