Australia's Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke has postponed a National Press Club address at which he had been expected to unveil a major package of reforms designed to sharply cut net migration, after an internal disagreement within the Labor government threw the plans into disarray. The move raises questions over the government's timetable for tightening immigration policy and suggests the proposed measures are more contentious within Labor's ranks than previously indicated.

The reforms reportedly under consideration include tougher rules on family visas, caps on backpacker numbers, and tighter restrictions on the work and appeal rights of asylum seekers. The package was also said to include measures preventing the spouses, children and parents of Australian citizens from easily obtaining visas, though the full detail was cut off in the report. No new date for the announcement had been confirmed at the time of writing.