Opposition Leader Angus Taylor has declared the Coalition would slash net overseas migration to 100,000 a year if elected, taking it to its lowest level since the late 1990s outside of COVID in a desperate bid to outdo One Nation.

Under his plan, net overseas migration would be cut by two-thirds to 100,000 a year for the Coalition’s first two years in government - taking it to the lowest level since 1997 and 1998 during John Howard’s first term as Liberal prime minister before a population surge.

Immigration numbers, factoring in both arrivals and departures of at least a year, would then gradually increase to 130,000 in its third year and 160,000 in its fourth year, with housing supply determining future immigration levels beyond year five.

A week out from his eight-month anniversary as Liberal leader, Mr Taylor declared the Coalition would be returning immigration to pre-mining boom levels to help alleviate Australia’s housing and transport infrastructure bottlenecks.

“What we are proposing today is the biggest cut to immigration in the history of this country. That is what is necessary right now, given the failures of the Labor Government,” he told reporters in Sydney on Tuesday.

“That will take pressure off roads, schools, infrastructure, and houses, and that will ensure that our country has the breathing space it needs.”

The Liberal leader’s declaration also marks a clear repudiation of the immigration surge that occurred during the late 2000s mining boom under the Howard government that continued under six Labor and Coalition prime ministers.

“What we’re announcing today will bring the numbers down to below the levels they were at under the Howard Liberal-National government. It will be putting Australia first and it will be putting our national interest first,” Mr Taylor said.

The 100,000 target would be less than a third of the 301,000 net overseas migration number recorded in 2025 under Labor and would be the lowest intake since 1998, outside of COVID, with the announcement occurring three weeks after One Nation unveiled its plan to crack down on temporary visa holders.

It would also be less than half the 245,000 net overseas migration forecast by Treasury for 2026-27, before an expected fall to 225,000 the following financial year.

Beyond the Coalition’s fifth year in power, net overseas migration would be capped at the level of home building completions, which stood at 173,367 in the year to the end of March, based on the Opposition the Conservative Party of Canada’s policy that failed to help it win last year’s election.

“To get that breathing space, we need to get the numbers down to those levels,” Mr Taylor said.

“Longer term, which was the essence of your question, yes, it will be capped based on housing supply.”

With the Coalition consistently coming third in opinion polls behind One Nation and Labor, Mr Taylor has also announced that net overseas migration would be lower than Pauline Hanson’s vow to slash the intake to 130,000 over the longer-term, following a 750,000 reduction in temporary visa holders over three years.

Mr Taylor said the Coalition’s plan would also reduce the number of temporary visa holders by about 650,000 over four years, while increasing temporary skilled visas by 100,000.

“There will be a 100,000 increase in skilled visa, temporary skilled visas. This is a focus on the skills we need as a country, which won’t be determined by union officials. It’ll be determined by the national interest and the interest of our economy and our businesses in this country,” he said.

The Coalition would also halve Australia’s humanitarian intake from 20,000 to 10,000 places a year, while keeping the permanent migration program capped at 185,000.

Shadow home affairs minister Jonno Duniam said the Coalition would retain the ability to increase the humanitarian intake where required.

“Of course we would retain the right to surge that number or augment that number where need arises,” he said.

Temporary graduate visas would also be abolished, while family reunion visas would remain unchanged and the Coalition would focus skilled migration on sectors facing shortages, including construction.

The Coalition would also restore an intelligence function within the Home Affairs Department to identify visa overstayers, with Senator Duniam saying about 77,000 people were now overstaying their visas.

The announcement comes as the Opposition ramps up pressure on the Albanese Government over migration, housing and cost-of-living pressures.

Net overseas migration surged following the pandemic, reaching 387,000 in 2022 and a record 547,300 in 2023 before falling to 340,800 in 2024 and 301,000 in 2025.

Ahead of Mr Taylor’s announcement, One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce, a former Nationals deputy prime minister, accused the Coalition of adopting his party’s hard-line approach to immigration.

“I congratulate the Coalition for basically coming up with our policy. There’s a bit of nuance there but you know what, it shows an endorsement of where One Nation is off to,” Mr Joyce told Nine on Tuesday.

“We are moving the agenda. We are moving both the Labor Party, we’re moving the Coalition, that’s what we intend to do. Obviously, we’re not that outrageous because they’ve gone and mimicked us.”

One Nation had initially proposed cutting net migration to 130,000 before shifting to a policy targeting negative net migration over three years.

Independent MP Zali Steggall also criticised calls for dramatic migration cuts, arguing Australia had an infrastructure problem rather than an immigration problem.

“If we cut immigration too dramatically, what we will be in Australia is older, poorer and dumber because the reality is much of our economy relies on immigration, from aged care to nurses, doctors, construction,” she told Nine.

Temporary student visa holders were the largest group of migrant arrivals in 2024-25, accounting for 157,000 of the 306,000 net overseas migration total.