The student visa restrictions Australia announced on 17 September 2026 are now law. From 2 October 2026, the Department of Home Affairs applies new rules to both the Student visa (subclass 500) and the Student Guardian visa (subclass 590). Two changes matter most: most temporary visa holders in Australia can no longer lodge a student visa application onshore, and most students can no longer bring a partner or children.
You must now be outside Australia to apply
Home Affairs states that affected applicants must be outside Australia when the application is lodged and also when the visa is granted. Holders of the following temporary visas can no longer make a valid subclass 500 or 590 application from inside Australia:
- Subclass 400 (Temporary Work — Short Stay Specialist)
- Subclass 403 (Temporary Work — International Relations)
- Subclass 407 (Training) and subclass 408 (Temporary Activity)
- Subclass 417 (Working Holiday) and subclass 462 (Work and Holiday)
- Subclass 457 (Temporary Work — Skilled) and subclass 482 (Skills in Demand)
- Subclass 485 (Temporary Graduate)
- Subclass 600 (Visitor), 601 (ETA), 602 (Medical Treatment) and 651 (eVisitor)
- Subclass 771 (Transit), 988 (Maritime Crew) and 995 (Diplomatic Temporary)
Visitor (600) and Temporary Graduate (485) holders have been barred from applying onshore since 1 July 2024. What is new from 2 October 2026 is how far that bar now extends — it now covers most of the temporary visa population, including working holiday makers and skilled workers on a 482.
Exemptions if you already hold a student visa
Current student visa holders are also covered by the onshore bar, but Home Affairs has published exemptions. You may still apply for another student visa from inside Australia if you:
- are studying a PhD or doctoral degree;
- need up to 12 more months beyond your original course end date to finish your studies;
- are progressing to a higher Australian Qualifications Framework level;
- are enrolling in primary or secondary school study, or moving between school and non-AQF courses;
- cannot continue because your education provider defaulted; or
- are sponsored by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade or by Defence.
Progression is the key word. The reform package was designed to stop what the government calls “visa hopping” — moving sideways or down to a cheaper provider rather than advancing to a higher qualification.
Family members: the announced ban is now in force
New subclass 500 applications can no longer include a partner or dependent children. The published exceptions apply where the main applicant:
- is studying a PhD or doctoral degree;
- is sponsored by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade or by Defence;
- has a course fully funded by a foreign government scholarship; or
- holds a passport from an eligible Pacific country or an ASEAN member state.
Three further protections exist for families already in the system: a family member who held a student visa as a secondary applicant on 2 October 2026, or who had already applied before that date, is not affected; children born in Australia on or after 2 October 2026 to an eligible student can be included; and families attached to students covered by the course-completion or provider-default exemptions keep their status.
One procedural change is easy to miss and expensive to get wrong: family members must now apply at the same time and place as the main student. Subsequent entrant applications — the long-standing route where a student arrived first and brought a partner later — are closed. Current student visa holders cannot add family members after their visa is granted.
What this means if you are applying
For a prospective student outside Australia, the practical effect is narrower than the headlines suggest: you apply offshore as you always have, and the dependants rule is what to plan around. For anyone already in Australia on a working holiday, a 485 or a 482 who intended to move onto a student visa, the position has changed fundamentally — unless an exemption applies, that application now has to be made from outside the country.
Two points are worth raising with any consultancy before you pay a deposit: whether your current visa sits on the barred list, and whether your intended course represents genuine AQF progression. Both are now validity questions, not just assessment risks — an invalid application is not refused on its merits, it simply cannot be made.
Australia’s all-sector student visa refusal rate reached 24.2% in the year to June 2026, a ten-year high. See Australia’s student visa refusal rate for the current data, the 17 September announcement for the original policy statement, and the ConsultancyCheck Student Visa Approval Tracker to compare Australia with Canada, the UK, the US and four other destinations.
Sources
- Department of Home Affairs — Changes to Student visa application rules (subclasses 500 & 590)
- Department of Home Affairs — Changes to Student visa applications fact sheet (PDF)
- Hannan Tew Lawyers — Student (subclass 500) visa changes, October 2026
- Agape Henry Crux — Student (SC500) visa changes 2026: offshore rules and family restrictions explained (2 October 2026)
- VisaEnvoy — Student visa changes from 2 October 2026