澳大利亚劳工政府悄然暂停了来自24个国家的打工度假签证申请[1]。这一举措是政府控制移民数量的最新步骤，其中中国、印度和越南采用彩票系统，其余国家已暂停申请，土耳其和圣马力诺各保留100个名额[1]。签证申请自7月初以来处理延迟[1]，此举引发了政治争议，因为工党和反对党就是否限制背包客数量存在分歧[1]。
打工度假人数已达历史新高，政府数据显示2024-25年底澳大利亚有225,648名打工度假者，占净移民的17.5%[1]。政府上月提高了签证费用，第一年签证从670元增至840元，第二、三年签证则为1000元[1]。移民专家Abul Rizvi称同时暂停这么多国家"极不寻常"，预计可能是临时暂停以管理需求或组织彩票系统[1]。政府目标是在两年内达到225,000净移民目标[1]。
对于打工度假签证的限制问题，反对党内存在不同声音。反对党众议院住房发言人Andrew Bragg建议将整体移民减至180,000[1]，但国民党领袖Matt Canavan反对此举，称打工度假者"不是问题所在"[1]。背包客对澳大利亚区域旅游业和季节性就业至关重要，使得这一政策问题更加复杂[1]。
Australia's Labor government has paused working holiday visa applications from 24 countries in an effort to manage immigration numbers, marking an unusual intervention in the program.[1] The freeze, which began in early July, has created processing delays and sparked political friction between the government and opposition over whether to restrict the backpacker intake.[1]
The pause affects nations including China, India, and Vietnam—which operate under a lottery system—while other countries have seen their allocations suspended entirely, with the exception of Turkey and San Marino, each retaining 100 places.[1] Migration expert Abul Rizvi described the simultaneous suspension of so many countries as "extremely unusual," suggesting it may be a temporary measure to manage demand or organize lottery systems.[1] The government is targeting a net migration figure of 225,000 over two years.[1]
The number of working holiday makers in Australia reached a historic peak, with 225,648 visa holders recorded by the end of the 2024–25 financial year, representing 17.5 percent of net migration.[1] This marks an increase from 173,216 in June 2024 and 210,971 in June 2025.[1] Compounding the restrictions, visa fees were raised last month: first-year permits rose from AUD 670 to AUD 840, while second and third-year visas increased to AUD 1,000.[1] The visa program maintains two streams: a first stream of 19 uncapped countries including the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan, and a second stream of 29 nations with allocated places.[1]
Opposition figures remain divided on the issue. Opposition housing spokesperson Andrew Bragg has proposed reducing overall immigration to 180,000, but National Party leader Matt Canavan has rejected such cuts, contending that working holiday makers are "not the problem."[1]