Effective 2 October 2026 Australia will no longer allow most temporary visa holders to apply for a Student visa while in the country, limiting on‑shore applications to a narrow set of exemptions.

Exemptions include students sponsored by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade or Defence, doctoral candidates, school‑age students, those affected by provider defaults and applicants needing a short extension to finish their courses.

Current Student visa holders will retain their existing permissions, and any applications lodged before 2 October 2026 will be assessed under the rules in force at the time of submission.

Family‑dependant eligibility will be sharply reduced, with dependants allowed only for doctoral candidates, fully funded foreign‑government scholarship recipients, certain government‑sponsored students and nationals of ASEAN and Pacific nations.

Students will also be barred from adding family members to a visa after it has been granted, although those who included dependants in applications submitted before the cut‑off may retain them for subsequent visas if still eligible.

For students wishing to change education providers, the minimum stay with the original provider will be increased to 12 months for non‑school courses, double the previous six‑month requirement, until a dedicated transfer stream is introduced in July 2027.

The upcoming transfer framework will require moves only to programmes at the same or higher qualification level, discouraging shifts to lower‑level vocational courses after arrival.

The reforms are part of a broader effort to curb “visa hopping”, where temporary residents switch visa categories or courses to extend their stay, and to ensure student visas are used primarily for genuine study.

The government also announced higher application charges for the Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485), with exemptions for Pacific Island, Timor‑Leste and ASEAN nationals.