Wong Defends Refugee Intake as Albanese Keeps Quota at 20,000

Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong addresses journalists during a press conference in Beijing, China, on April 29, 2026. Adek Berry/AFP via Getty Images

Foreign Minister Penny Wong has defended Labor’s current refugee intake, saying it maintains the “appropriate balance” amid pressure from One Nation to cut migration.

“We’ve got a very clear position—we have very strong border policies which have seen no successful boat arrivals under the government, but at the same time, we will continue to maintain refugee intake,” she told ABC News.

“I think that’s an appropriate balance, that’s a balance the government’s maintained for many years now.”

The minister’s comments come after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stepped in to confirm that there would be no change to the intake of 20,000 places, following reports that his government intended to slash the program to 13,750 places.

“The refugee intake needs to be renewed in the coming budget as the 20,000 places was available for four years,” he said.

“This intake number remains government policy and will be continued in future years, consistent with Australia’s humanitarian commitments and sits beside our strong border security measures.”

During the Q&A session at the Bush Summit on Aug. 27, Albanese was asked whether his government’s migration policy was a response to One Nation, which has backed reducing net overseas migration to 130,000 a year.

“No, we’re responding to the fact that post-COVID when our borders were shut, there was always going to be a spike, and there was a spike, in net overseas migration,” he said.

“We’ve reduced that by 45 percent. We’ve done that in an orderly way through a range of measures.

“We tried to introduce legislation, that wasn’t successful, to wind back overseas student numbers. We had to do it through a different method.”

Albanese said his government was “worried about trying to get the numbers right,” adding that net overseas migration could be controlled by both limiting the intake and ensuring people who no longer have the right to remain in Australia leave.

“Our priority, and what we’re really looking at as well, is people who game the system—people who can come in and they can put in an appeal and continue to put in another appeal and go through,” he said.

Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Angus Taylor said the Coalition may also consider cutting the refugee intake, but exact details would not be released until closer to the 2028 federal election.

“When we see what the housing construction looks like, we'll announce the number, and the visa classes will align with that,” he told News24.

“We’re a very generous country, but charity starts at home, and we’ve got to do the right thing by Australians first.”