Student Visa Reform — Key Changes from 2 October 2026
Instrument: Migration Amendment (Student Visa Reform) Regulations 2026
Registered: 1 October 2026
Commenced: 2 October 2026
1. Current Student visa holders generally need to be outside Australia for a further Student visa
This is one of the biggest changes.
The regulations now provide that a person applying for another Subclass 500 visa who already holds a Subclass 500 visa must generally be outside Australia when applying, unless they fall within a specified exception.
Important exceptions
The offshore requirement does not apply to certain classes, including:
- Defence students
- Foreign Affairs students
- School students
- Other classes specified by legislative instrument.
This is important for onshore Student → Student applications.
2. Onshore applications are now more restricted
For an applicant who is in Australia, the regulations provide that the applicant must:
- hold a substantive visa, and
- not belong to a class that is specifically required to apply offshore,
unless one of the special provisions applies.
So the practical question for every onshore Student visa applicant is now:
What visa does the applicant currently hold, and does an instrument require that person to apply offshore?
This is particularly relevant when assessing 482 → 500, 485 → 500, Visitor → 500 and other temporary visa → Student visa scenarios.
3. Special provision for people whose previous Student visa was cancelled
A significant new provision has been introduced for applicants whose previous Student visa was cancelled but the cancellation was subsequently overturned by the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART).
The applicant may be able to make a further Student visa application where:
- their previous substantive visa was a Student visa;
- the Student visa was cancelled;
- the ART set aside and substituted the cancellation decision, or set aside the Minister's decision not to revoke the cancellation;
- the ART decision occurred after the previous visa had ceased;
- the new application is made within 28 days of notification of the ART decision; and
- they have not previously been granted a visa based on an application made while they did not hold a substantive visa.
Practical significance
This provides a specific pathway for certain former Student visa holders following successful ART review.
4. Major changes to Student visa dependants
The regulations significantly change the framework for secondary Student visa applicants/family members.
A secondary applicant can make a Student visa application only in specified circumstances.
The main categories include where the primary Student visa applicant is:
- a Defence student;
- a Foreign Affairs student;
- a holder of a passport from a Pacific regional country or another country specified in the regulations; or
- the secondary applicant falls within specific transitional or existing-family-member circumstances.
5. Existing Student visa family members are protected in certain circumstances
The regulations contain transitional provisions for secondary applicants who are already in Australia.
For example, an existing secondary Student visa holder may continue to have access to the relevant application pathway where:
- they are already in Australia;
- they held a Student visa as a secondary applicant when the new rules commenced; and
- the primary applicant held the relevant Student visa as a primary applicant.
There are also provisions for children born in Australia after commencement, where their parent holds or has applied for a Student visa.
6. Family members — primary applicant's nationality now matters
One of the important changes is that family members can continue to apply in certain circumstances where the primary Student visa applicant is:
Pacific-regional passport holder / specified national, Defence student or Foreign Affairs student.
7. Changes to visa grant location
The regulations also clarify where the applicant must be when the Student visa is granted.
If the applicant was required to be outside Australia when applying, they must also be outside Australia when the visa is granted.
In other circumstances, the applicant may be in or outside Australia when the visa is granted, provided they are not in immigration clearance.
This is important:
Application location and grant location are now expressly connected.
8. New framework for "classes of persons"
The regulations give the Minister/legislative instruments the ability to specify classes of people for:
- secondary Student visa applications;
- applicants who can remain in Australia;
- applicants who are exempt from the offshore requirement.
This is why LIN 26/087 and LIN 26/102, which you uploaded earlier, are important. They provide the detailed classes that sit underneath these Regulations.
9. These rules apply to applications made from 2 October 2026
The transitional provision states that the amendments apply to a Student visa application made on or after commencement of the Schedule.
Therefore, the key date is:
2 October 2026
For applications made from that date, the new Student visa framework needs to be considered.
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