Australian Immigration Daily News

The Migration Amendment (Student Visa Reform) Regulations 2026 amend the Migration Regulations 1994 to restrict further onshore Student visa applications and the inclusion of family members.

The amendments apply to visa applications made on or after 2 October 2026.

Further Student visa applications

Existing Subclass 500 visa holders seeking a further Student visa as a primary applicant generally must apply outside Australia. This includes secondary Student visa holders seeking to become primary applicants.

Exemptions apply to eligible primary Student visa holders who are Defence students, Foreign Affairs students, school students or members of a class specified by legislative instrument.

Applicants required to lodge offshore under the relevant provisions must also be outside Australia when their Student visa is granted.

Restrictions on family members

Secondary applicants may only apply where an applicable exception is satisfied. These include:

• The primary applicant is a Defence or Foreign Affairs student.
• The primary applicant holds a passport from a Pacific regional country or an ASEAN member country.
• Specified transitional arrangements apply to existing secondary visa holders or applicants making a further onshore application.
• Specified arrangements apply to children born in Australia after commencement.
• The secondary applicant belongs to a class specified by legislative instrument.

Eligible secondary applicants must apply at the same time and place as the primary applicant. Separate subsequent entrant applications are no longer available under these amendments.

Where the combined application requirements necessitate offshore lodgement, all applicants must apply outside Australia.

Applications following visa expiry

The amendments remove the onshore application pathway based on having held a Student visa that expired within the previous 28 days.

A limited pathway remains for certain applicants following an Administrative Review Tribunal decision revoking a Student visa cancellation where the original visa period has already expired, subject to the relevant criteria.

Application and practical implications

The Government’s stated purpose is to strengthen Student visa program integrity and reduce the use of successive temporary visa applications to prolong stays in Australia.

Registered migration agents and migration lawyers should review the amended application validity requirements, grant criteria, transitional provisions and accompanying legislative instruments before advising clients.

Applications made before 2 October 2026 are not subject to these amendments.

Source: Migration-Amendment-Student-Visa-Reform-Regulations-2026.pdf  and

Migration-Amendment-Student-Visa-Reform-Regulations-2026-Explanatory-Statement.pdf