Since 2 October 2026, the Department of Home Affairs requires most student visa (subclass 500) applications to be lodged outside Australia, and most applicants can no longer include family members.1 For a school leaver applying from home, the money to show, the English scores, the Genuine Student requirement, the visa charge and the work limit did not change. The two changes decide where the application is made and who travels with the student.
What changed on 2 October 2026?
The Department of Home Affairs describes the change: “From 2 October 2026, there are new rules for Student visa (subclass 500) and Student Guardian (subclass 590) visas. The rules change who can apply for and be granted a visa while in Australia, and whether family members can be included.”2
| Before 2 October 2026 | Since 2 October 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Where most applications are lodged | More visa holders in Australia could apply there. The Department says the rules changed “who can apply for and be granted a visa while in Australia”.2 | “Most Student visa applications must be lodged outside Australia.”1 |
| Family members in the application | Most applicants could include a partner and children. The Department says most “can no longer include family members”.1 | Only in the exemption cases, in the same application as the student.13 |
| Applications lodged before 2 October 2026 | Assessed under the old rules.1 | The new rules apply to applications lodged from 2 October 2026.1 |
Sources: the Department of Home Affairs' Student visa page and its Changes page; Migration Regulations 1994, Schedule 1, item 1222, Compilation No. 289. Read 2 November 2026.
Change 1: where to apply for a student visa
The Department of Home Affairs requires most student visa applications to be lodged outside Australia. A school leaver at home applies online from home. A person in Australia applies there only with an eligible visa and an exemption.13
If you are outside Australia
A school leaver applies online from the home country. The Department requires a valid Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE) from the college when the visa is decided, and Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) for the stay.1 The Eligibility Checker asks where you are and reads your answers against the rules in force from 2 October 2026.
If you are already in Australia on another visa
The Department of Home Affairs lists the visas whose holders cannot apply for a student visa in Australia at all, with no exemptions4:
- Visitor (subclass 600), eVisitor (subclass 651) and Electronic Travel Authority (subclass 601)
- Working Holiday (subclass 417) and Work and Holiday (subclass 462)
- Temporary Graduate (subclass 485), the visa for graduates 35 or younger5
- Skills in Demand (subclass 482) and subclass 457
- Training (subclass 407), Temporary Activity (subclass 408) and Temporary Work (subclass 400)
- Medical Treatment (subclass 602), Transit (subclass 771) and Maritime Crew (subclass 988)
- Subclass 403 in the Domestic Worker stream, and subclass 995 as the primary holder
A holder of one of these visas applies from outside Australia.14
If you already hold a student visa
A student visa holder in Australia must be outside Australia to apply for a new student visa, unless one of six exemptions applies. The Department of Home Affairs sets them136:
- Course completion: finishing the main course within 12 months of the end date on its CoE, with the same provider.
- Students sponsored by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) or Defence.
- Applying for a PhD.
- Primary or secondary school studies.
- Course progression: the main course is complete and the next course is at a higher AQF level, one further course only.
- Provider default: the college defaulted, within 12 months of the default day.
A dependent or secondary student visa holder cannot apply as the primary applicant in Australia.1
Leaving Australia to apply
The Department of Home Affairs sets out what to expect7:
- The student “must be outside Australia when you lodge your visa application and when your new visa is granted”.
- The Department grants no bridging visa for an application lodged outside Australia.
- The Department “is seeking to finalise complete student visa applications lodged outside Australia within 5 business days, provided they meet the priority criteria”. Priority processing “does not guarantee that your visa will be granted”.
- “Do not book your return flights … until your new Student visa has been granted.”
Change 2: can family come on a student visa?
The Department of Home Affairs puts it in these words: “Most Student visa applicants can no longer include family members”.1 A family member means a partner, or a dependent child who is unmarried and under 18.1
Most applicants cannot include a partner or children. Family members cannot apply later as a subsequent entrant "in any circumstance".1 Where an exemption applies, the family applies at the same time and place as the student, in one application.3
The Department of Home Affairs sets the exemptions136:
- A PhD student.
- A student sponsored by DFAT or Defence.
- A student on a foreign government scholarship that fully funds the study.
- A student with a passport from one of the 13 Pacific Island countries and Timor-Leste: Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu.
- A student with a passport from one of ten Southeast Asian countries: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam.
- A family member in Australia who already held, or had applied for, a place on the student’s visa before 2 October 2026, in the listed cases.
The Department of Home Affairs requires the family member’s application to be “made at the same time and place as, and combined with” the student’s.3 A student who changes providers, or needs more than 12 months more, applies from outside Australia. The Department excludes family from that application unless a family exemption applies, “even if your family members are included in your current Student visa”.7
What did not change for a school leaver applying from home?
Everything else stays as it was:
- The money to show: travel, the first 12 months of course fees, and AUD $29,710 in living costs for 12 months.8 The funds calculator works out the figure.
- The English scores: IELTS Academic 6.0 or PTE Academic 47. With at least 10 weeks of English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students (ELICOS), 5.5 or 39. With at least 20 weeks, 5.0 or 31. The test must be within the 2 years before lodging.9
- The Genuine Student requirement: written questions in the application form, up to 150 words each, with documents that support the answers.10
- The visa application charge, in three amounts11:
- AUD $2,500 for most applicants.
- AUD $2,050 for a passport from one of the ten Southeast Asian countries on the Department’s list, or for an ELICOS or non-award course.
- AUD $745 for a passport from one of the 13 Pacific Island countries and Timor-Leste.
- The work limit: 48 hours a fortnight (every 2 weeks) while the course is in session.12
- Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) for the whole stay.13 Studyaway arranges OSHC.
Frequently asked questions
Can my partner join me later on my student visa?
No. The Department of Home Affairs says family members “cannot apply as a subsequent entrant (at a later time, separate from your application) in any circumstance”.1 Where an exemption applies, the family applies with the student, in one application.
Can a student from the Philippines bring family?
Yes. The Philippines is one of the ten Southeast Asian countries on the Department’s list.13 A student with a Philippines passport can include a partner and children in the same application. The funds and the charge rise for each family member.811
This article is general information only, not migration advice. Figures and rules were read at source on 2 November 2026 (the sources are listed below). In Australia, immigration assistance may only be provided by a registered migration agent or Australian legal practitioner - Studyaway provides all students with access to a Registered Migration Agent.
Sources
- Department of Home Affairs, Student visa (subclass 500) page (last updated 22 October 2026). Read 2 November 2026.
- Department of Home Affairs, Changes to Student visa application rules (subclasses 500 & 590) (last updated 14 October 2026). Read 2 November 2026.
- Migration Regulations 1994, Schedule 1, item 1222(3)(aa), (3A), (3)(da), (3)(e), (4) and (5A) (where to apply and family members), Compilation No. 289 (2 October 2026). Read 2 November 2026.
- LIN 26/102, section 6 (visas whose holders cannot apply for a student visa in Australia) (in force 2 October 2026). Read 2 November 2026.
- Migration Regulations 1994, Schedule 1, item 1229(4)(b) (Temporary Graduate visa age), Compilation No. 289 (2 October 2026). Read 2 November 2026.
- LIN 20/158, sections 16 to 23 (the student and family exemption classes), Compilation No. 1 (2 October 2026). Read 2 November 2026.
- Department of Home Affairs, Applying for another student visa outside Australia (last updated 29 October 2026). Read 2 November 2026.
- Migration Regulations 1994, Schedule 2, clause 500.214; LIN 19/198, section 6(2) (funds), Compilation No. 2 (10 May 2024). Read 2 November 2026.
- Migration Regulations 1994, Schedule 2, clause 500.213; LIN 25/090, sections 6 and 7 and Schedule 1 (English) (in force 7 August 2025). Read 2 November 2026.
- Department of Home Affairs, Genuine Student requirement page (last updated 24 September 2026). Read 2 November 2026.
- Migration Regulations 1994, Schedule 1, item 1222(2) and (5A) (the visa application charge), Compilation No. 289 (2 October 2026). Read 2 November 2026.
- Migration Regulations 1994, Schedule 8, condition 8105 (48 hours a fortnight), Compilation No. 289 (2 October 2026). Read 2 November 2026.
- Migration Regulations 1994, Schedule 2, clause 500.215 (health insurance), Compilation No. 289 (2 October 2026). Read 2 November 2026.
Checked and updated 2 November 2026.
