FROM THE ABROAD PROCESS LIBRARY

Australia Student Visa Changes From 2 October 2026

Published 22 October 2026 · Source checked 2026-10-22

Check the publication date and official provider for current requirements before acting on this guide.

Last checked: 22 October 2026. Australia changed its Student visa rules on 2 October 2026. The changes affect who can apply for a Student visa from inside Australia and who can bring family. Check the Department of Home Affairs website for the rules that apply to you.

What changed on 2 October 2026

Applying from inside Australia. Most temporary visa holders, including Working Holiday Maker and Skills in Demand visa holders, can no longer apply for a Student visa (subclass 500) while in Australia. Student visa holders who want another onshore Student visa must show genuine course progression. Limited exemptions apply, for example for school and PhD students.
Family members. Under the Home Affairs factsheet, current Student visa holders can no longer add family members after their Student visa is granted, and the factsheet lists no exemptions to that. PhD students and eligible students from Pacific or ASEAN countries can include family when they apply.
Applications already lodged. Applications lodged before 2 October 2026 continue to be assessed under the rules in place when they were lodged.
Families already in Australia. Minister Tony Burke said families already in Australia will not be broken up onshore.

The government announced the reforms in the Minister for Home Affairs’ National Press Club address of 17 September 2026. Assistant Minister Julian Hill published a media release when they took effect.

The 2026 planning level and processing priority

The government set a national planning level of 295,000 international student commencements for 2026. Ministerial Direction 115, effective 14 November 2025, sets the order in which offshore Student visa applications are processed. It is not a hard cap on grants. Higher priority goes to groups such as PhD research and school sector students, TAFE and standalone English language students, regional universities, and government-sponsored students. Priority 1 status applies only while a provider has not reached 80% of its allocation for the year. Even a priority application can be slowed by integrity checks, so expect requests for more information.

What this means for you

If you plan to study in Australia, apply from outside the country where you can, and check the processing priority of your provider.
If you plan to bring a partner or children, find out before you apply. After a Student visa is granted, family cannot be added.
If you are already in Australia on another temporary visa, check whether you can still apply for a Student visa onshore.
Keep your documents consistent and complete. Integrity checks are the main cause of delay.

Sources

Read the official source

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