What to Do Next After Australia's October 2026 Student Visa Changes: A Step-by-Step Check

From 2 October 2026, most temporary visa holders can no longer apply for a Student visa in Australia, and new applicants generally cannot include family members; here is how to check what applies to you.

Australia changed who can apply for a Student visa on 2 October 2026, and it changed whether new applicants can bring family members with them. If you are already inside Australia on another temporary visa, want to add a partner or child to your application, or are thinking about switching education providers, the first thing to do is work out which of these changes actually touches your situation. This guide walks through that check in order, using the 7 October 2026 update from Study Australia.

Start with the date that matters

The changes took effect on 2 October 2026. Two things depend heavily on that date:

Applications lodged before 2 October 2026 continue to be assessed under the rules in place when they were lodged. This includes applications that already included family members.
Your current Student visa is not affected. The changes apply to new applications, not to visas you already hold.

So before anything else, note when you lodged (or plan to lodge) and what your current visa status is.

Can you apply for a Student visa while you are in Australia?

From 2 October 2026, most temporary visa holders can no longer apply for a Student visa (subclass 500) while in Australia. This includes Working Holiday Maker and Skills in Demand visa holders.

If you are a Student visa holder, you generally cannot apply for another Student visa while in Australia unless an exemption applies.

Exemptions apply to:

students sponsored by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) or the Australian Department of Defence
students applying to undertake a doctoral degree, or primary or secondary school studies
students affected by provider default, where their education provider cannot deliver their course
students who need up to 12 additional months to complete their studies with the same education provider
students who have completed the main course covered by their current visa and are progressing to a higher-level course.

What to do if you cannot apply inside Australia

If you fall outside those exemptions, you can still apply for a Student visa from outside Australia. Two points follow from that:

You must lodge the application from outside Australia.
You must also be outside Australia when the visa is granted.

Plan your travel and timing around both of those, not just the application itself.

Applying for a Student Guardian visa (subclass 590)

If you plan to apply for a Student Guardian visa while in Australia, check whether the new application requirements affect you. Current Student Guardian visa holders can continue to apply for another Student Guardian visa while in Australia.

Can you include family members?

If you are applying for your first or a further Student visa, you can no longer include family members in your application unless an exemption applies.

Exemptions apply to:

doctoral students
nationals of Pacific countries and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries
fully funded foreign government scholarship recipients
students sponsored by DFAT or the Australian Department of Defence.

If your family is already in Australia

Some arrangements are in place to avoid separating families who are already in Australia. You may include the same family members in a new application if:

they were included in your visa or visa application before 2 October 2026, and
you are eligible to apply for a further Student visa in Australia.

One rule with no exceptions

You cannot add family members after your Student visa has been granted. There are no exemptions to this rule. If you are planning to bring family later, that option is closed once the visa is granted, so factor this into the decision before you apply rather than after.

If you are thinking about changing education providers

Further changes to Student visa settings are still being developed. A new Transfer stream within the Student visa subclass is intended to be introduced, and Student visa holders who change education providers would be required to apply through it.

The Australian Government is still developing the details. The specifics and the effective date have not been published yet. Until they are, review the official visa requirements before changing your provider or course, and do not treat any announced-but-unfinalised detail as settled.

Temporary Graduate visa applicants

Restrictions on the ability of Temporary Graduate visa applicants to include family members in their application will be introduced. These details are also still being developed, and the specifics and effective timing have not been announced yet.

Temporary Graduate visa holders continue to have unlimited work rights and can use their Australian qualifications to access graduate work opportunities in Australia or overseas.

One cost item is already confirmed: the Temporary Graduate (subclass 485) visa application charge increased to A$5,750 on 1 July 2026. Eligible applicants from Pacific Island countries, Timor-Leste and ASEAN member states were excluded from the charge increases.

Your step-by-step next actions

Work out how the changes affect you before making any visa, study, travel or relocation plans.
Check whether the new requirements affect a plan to apply for a Student visa while you are in Australia.
Consider how the family member changes affect your plans, especially if you intend to bring family later.
Review official visa requirements before changing your education provider or course.
Use the Department of Home Affairs Document Checklist Tool to check the financial capacity and English language evidence you may need.

Individual cases are decided against the Department of Home Affairs' latest requirements. For advice about your own circumstances, contact a migration agent registered with the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority.