From 2 October 2026, new migration laws have significantly changed who can apply for a Student (Subclass 500) visa in Australia, and who can be included in that application.
In short, if you already hold a Student visa and want to apply for another one, you will now generally need to do so from outside Australia, and holders of many other temporary visas can no longer apply for a Student visa onshore at all. The rules on family members have also tightened, so partners and children can only be included in limited circumstances, and can no longer be added once the visa has been granted.
The changes apply to Student visa applications made on or after 2 October 2026. They follow the migration reform package the Australian Government announced on 17 September 2026, which targeted the use of Student visas as a way of extending a stay in Australia.
The new restrictions on applying in Australia also apply to Student Guardian (Subclass 590) visa applications. However, current Student Guardian visa holders can still apply for a further Student Guardian visa while in Australia.
Key changes at a glance
- A person who holds a Student visa (as either the main student or a family member) and applies for a further Student visa as the main student must generally be outside Australia when they apply (subject to limited exceptions);
- A person who was required to apply from outside Australia must also be outside Australia when the visa is granted;
- Holders of 17 specified temporary visas, including the Working Holiday, Skills in Demand, Temporary Graduate and Visitor visas, cannot make a valid Student visa application while in Australia;
- Family members can only be included in a Student visa application in limited circumstances, such as where the student is a doctoral student or holds a passport from specified countries;
- Family members must now apply at the same time and place as the student. They can no longer be added to a Student visa after it has been granted.
Please note that applications lodged before 2 October 2026 are not affected by these changes.
What happens to applications already lodged?
The amendments apply only to Student visa applications made on or after 2 October 2026. An application lodged before that date will continue to be decided under the rules that applied when it was lodged.
There are also transitional protections for some family members who already held, or had applied for, a Student visa on 2 October 2026. These are explained below.
Can a Student visa holder apply for a further Student visa in Australia?
Generally, no. A person applying for a Student visa as the main student who already holds a Student visa must now be outside Australia when they apply. This is the case whether they currently hold that visa as the main student or as a family member.
A person who holds a Student visa as the main student can still apply in Australia if they fall within one of the following groups.
Exception | Who it applies to |
Defence and Foreign Affairs students | Students sponsored by the Department of Defence or the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade |
School students | Students undertaking a school course |
Doctoral students | Enrolled in a course leading to a doctoral degree when the application is made |
Completing current studies | Has started, but not finished, the principal course the visa was granted for (or an alternative principal course with the same provider), and will finish it within 12 months of the end date on the Confirmation of Enrolment |
Course progression | Has completed the principal course and is enrolled in no more than one further course at a higher AQF level. If the completed course was a higher education course, the next course must also be a higher education course with a higher education provider. A student can also progress from school studies to a course without an AQF level, or from a course without an AQF level (such as an English language course) to a course with an AQF level |
Provider default | Could not complete a registered course because of provider default, was enrolled on the default day, applies within 12 months of it, and has not already applied because of the same default |
Notably, a student who wants to move sideways or downwards, such as from one Bachelor degree to another or from a Master degree to a Diploma, will generally not fall within these exceptions and will need to apply from outside Australia.
These exceptions do not extend to a family member who holds a Student visa and now wants to apply as the main student. That person must apply from outside Australia.
Which visa holders cannot apply for a Student visa in Australia?
Holders of a range of other temporary visas can no longer make a valid Student visa application while they are in Australia.
If you hold any of the following visas, you must apply for a Student visa from outside Australia:
- Temporary Work (Short Stay Specialist) (Subclass 400) visa
- Temporary Work (International Relations) (Subclass 403) visa
- Training (Subclass 407) visa
- Temporary Activity (Subclass 408) visa
- Working Holiday (Subclass 417) visa
- Temporary Work (Skilled) (Subclass 457) visa
- Work and Holiday (Subclass 462) visa
- Skills in Demand (Subclass 482) visa
- Temporary Skill Shortage (Subclass 482) visa
- Temporary Graduate (Subclass 485) visa
- Visitor (Subclass 600) visa
- Electronic Travel Authority (Subclass 601) visa
- Medical Treatment (Subclass 602) visa
- eVisitor (Subclass 651) visa
- Transit (Subclass 771) visa
- Maritime Crew (Subclass 988) visa
- Diplomatic (Temporary) (Subclass 995) visa
Can I still include my partner or children in my Student visa application?
Only in limited circumstances. A family member can now only be included in a Student visa application if one of the following applies.
Exception | When it applies |
Defence and Foreign Affairs students | The main student is a Defence student or a Foreign Affairs student |
Pacific and specified countries | The main student holds a passport from a Pacific regional country or certain other specified countries (ASEAN member states) |
Doctoral students | The main student is enrolled in a course leading to a doctoral degree |
Foreign government scholarship | The main student’s course (or all of their courses) is fully funded by a foreign government |
Existing family members | The family member is in Australia and, on 2 October 2026, held a Student visa as a family member of the same student, or had applied for one before that date which was later granted |
Children born in Australia | The child was born in Australia on or after 2 October 2026 to a student who held, or had applied for, a Student visa on that date |
Completing studies or provider default | The main student falls within the completing-studies or provider default exception above, and the family member already holds a Student visa as that student’s family member |
Pacific Island and Timor-Leste citizen primary applicants must hold a valid passport issued by one of the following countries:
- Federated States of Micronesia
- Fiji
- Kiribati
- Nauru
- Palau
- Papua New Guinea
- Republic of the Marshall Islands
- Samoa
- Solomon Islands
- Timor-Leste
- Tonga
- Tuvalu
- Vanuatu
ASEAN citizen primary applicants must hold a valid passport issued by one of the following countries:
- Brunei Darussalam
- Cambodia
- Indonesia
- Lao Peoples Dem Republic
- Malaysia
- Myanmar
- Philippines
- Singapore
- Thailand
- Timor-Leste
- Vietnam
Can I add family members to my Student visa after it is granted?
Family members must now apply at the same time and place as the main student, in a combined application. It is no longer possible to add a partner or child to a Student visa after it has been granted (known as a subsequent entrant application).
This means students who intended to come to Australia first and bring their family later should seek advice before lodging.
Do I need to be outside Australia when the visa is granted?
If you were required to apply from outside Australia, you must also be outside Australia when the visa is granted. This applies to Student visa holders who do not fall within one of the exceptions above, and to holders of any of the visas listed in the previous section.
In practice, this means you will need to leave Australia, lodge your application and stay offshore until the visa is granted.
If you were able to apply in Australia, you can be either in or outside Australia when the visa is granted.
What about students whose visa cancellation was overturned?
The changes also create a new pathway for students whose visa was cancelled. If the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) overturns the cancellation after the visa has already ceased, the person can apply for a new Student visa in Australia even though they no longer hold a substantive visa. They must apply within 28 days of being notified of the ART’s decision, and cannot previously have been granted a visa on an application made while they did not hold a substantive visa.
Key takeaways
From 2 October 2026, whether you can apply for a Student visa in Australia depends on the visa you currently hold and, if it is a Student visa, whether you fall within one of the limited exceptions, such as doctoral study, finishing your current course or moving up to a higher-level course.
If you want to include family members, you will need to fit within one of the family exceptions, and you will not be able to add them after the visa is granted.
The changes apply only to applications lodged on or after 2 October 2026. Anyone planning a course change, further study or to bring family to Australia should carefully check their position before lodging a Student visa application.
Any questions?
If you require assistance, please feel free to contact us by email at [email protected] or phone +61 3 9016 0484.
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