State and Territory Ministers from across Australia met in Melbourne on 12 September 2025 at the Ministerial Migration Roundtable to advance cooperation on migration.
The Federal Assistant Minister for Citizenship, Customs and Multicultural Affairs and Assistant Minister for International Education, the Hon Julian Hill MP, chaired the Roundtable and reflected on the importance of all levels of Government working together on migration planning in the national interest.
Assistant Minister Hill re-iterated the Australian Government’s commitment to collaborating with States and Territories on migration to strengthen the economy and support communities across the nation.
Minister Hill provided an update on the 2025-26 permanent Migration Program which will remain steady at 185,000 permanent visas for 2025-26, consistent with long term sustainable migration levels.
Ministers also discussed the important role that State and Territory governments play in shaping Australia’s migration program. This includes maintaining the total State and Territory nominated skilled and regional visa classes, with planning levels for visa grants to continue at the same level in 2025-26. This part of the program is important for all States and Territories to help meet critical skills shortages in areas such as regional healthcare, education, construction and engineering, and especially for smaller jurisdictions who receive a lower share of the skilled independent and employer sponsored visa classes.
Ministers acknowledged the Commonwealth’s intention to reduce visa processing times for highly skilled migrants. The Commonwealth acknowledged the advocacy from every State and Territory for additional places.
Ministers discussed longer term migration planning, regional migration, Designated Area Migration Agreements, State and Territory Migration Plans, essential skills pathways and specific jurisdictional issues. State and Territory ministers welcomed future opportunities to engage on these matters.
Ministers agreed to hold the next Ministerial Migration Roundtable meeting in early 2026.
