Now lawMigration & Citizenship Introduced in the House of Representatives, 10 Mar 2026

Minister can now pause temporary visas for groups overseas

This law lets the government stop some temporary visa holders who are outside Australia from flying in. It is for times of war or crisis overseas. It touches visitors, students and workers abroad, and the families waiting for them.

Official name: Migration Amendment (2026 Measures No. 1) Bill 2026

Who it affects

• Temporary visa holders who are overseas: If you are in a group the Minister names, your visa stops working while you are outside Australia. You cannot fly in until the order ends.
• Temporary visa holders already in Australia: Nothing changes for you, even if you leave and come back while an order is in place.
• Partners, children and parents linked to Australians: The order does not apply to the partner or child of an Australian citizen or permanent resident. A permanent resident is allowed to live here for good without being a citizen. It also does not apply to the parent of a child under 18 in Australia.
• Refugees and people on humanitarian visas: Temporary protection, safe haven and humanitarian visas are left out. These are visas for people fleeing danger. These people can still travel.
• Permanent residents and citizens: This law does not touch permanent visas.

Visas cancelled person by person

Australia hands out temporary visas to tourists, students, workers and others. Most of these visas are given on the basis that the person plans to go home later.

Sometimes a war or crisis breaks out in a person's home country after they get their visa. The government says some of those people might then not leave Australia when their visa runs out.

The Migration Act 1958 is the main law on visas. Before this law, it had no power to stop a whole group of visa holders from coming here. The only way was to cancel visas one person at a time.

The government says that was slow and cost a lot. It could not keep up with fast events overseas. This law gives the Minister a power to act on a whole group at once.

Power to pause group visas

The law creates an order called an arrival control determination. The Minister for Home Affairs makes it. It names one or more groups of people who hold temporary visas.

Say you are in a named group and you are outside Australia when the order starts. Your temporary visa stops working. You cannot use it to come into Australia while the order lasts.

Your visa is not cancelled. You still hold it, and its end date stays the same. When the order ends, or you leave the named group, the visa switches back on by itself.

Say you are an overseas student who went home for the holidays. Then war breaks out in your country. If the Minister names your group, you could not fly back to Australia. You would have to wait until the order ended or you got a special pass.

Steps the Minister takes first

The Minister can only make an order if something has happened, or is happening, outside Australia. The Minister must also think one of two things is likely.

The first is that people in the group might stay in Australia after their visa ends. The second is that their visa might have been refused if the event had happened when they applied.

The Minister must also believe the order is good for the nation. Before signing it, the Minister needs written agreement from the Prime Minister and the Foreign Affairs Minister.

The government says the power is meant for wars and events of a similar size.

How long orders last

Each order must say how long it lasts. It can never last more than six months. The Minister can cancel it early. The Minister cannot change it or make it longer.

A new order can be made when the old one ends. But the Minister must go through all the same tests again. Only one order can cover a group at a time.

Only the Minister in person can make or cancel an order. People usually have the right to be heard before a decision about them. That right does not apply here.

Who is protected

The law lists people an order can never touch. These include people on a temporary protection visa, a temporary safe haven visa or a temporary humanitarian visa. People on short-term visas while they apply for these are covered too.

Family members are also left out. That includes the husband, wife, partner or child of an Australian citizen or permanent resident. It also includes the parent of a child under 18 who is in Australia.

Anyone who is already in Australia when the order starts is not touched. They can leave and come back on their visa as normal.

Say your partner is an Australian citizen and you hold a temporary visa. You are visiting family overseas. You can still fly home to Australia even if your group is named.

Exemptions for single cases

The Minister can give a person a permitted travel certificate. This lifts the order for that one person so they can travel to Australia.

You can ask for one in writing. Or someone you trust can ask for you. The government gives examples, like very strong or caring reasons, or where it helps Australia's dealings with other countries.

The Minister does not have to look at any request. Once a person with a certificate is in Australia, it cannot be taken away while they stay.

Every six months, the Minister must tell Parliament how many certificates were handed out.

Checks by Parliament and courts

Within two days that Parliament sits, the Minister must give both houses of Parliament a copy of any order. A written list of the reasons has to go with it.

Parliament cannot vote to throw out an order. Most rules made by ministers can be cancelled by a vote in either house. This kind is left out on purpose. The government says this gives certainty while the order runs.

Only the High Court, Australia's top court, can hear a legal fight over an order. Lower courts cannot hear them.

Start date

The government brought the bill into the House of Representatives on 10 March 2026. That is the lower house of Parliament, where the government sits. The House passed it on 11 March. The Senate, Parliament's second house, passed it on 12 March.

The Governor-General, who stands in for the King, signed it into law on 13 March 2026. It became Act No. 10 of 2026. The new rules started the next day.

The rules apply to visas given before or after the law started.

How they voted

Its journey through Parliament

Official sources

• Bill page on aph.gov.au
• Text of the bill
• Explanatory memorandum

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