Home / Study abroad / Australia student visa changes
Study in Australia · Department of Home Affairs rules from 2 October 2026
What changed for Australian student visas on 2 October 2026?
From 2 October 2026, most temporary visa holders in Australia can no longer lodge a Student visa (subclass 500) or Student Guardian visa (subclass 590) application while they are in Australia, and Student visa applicants can no longer include family members unless an exemption applies. If you are applying from Bangladesh you are already outside Australia, so the onshore rule adds nothing to a first application — but the family-member change does affect you.
Start the short assessmentOpen the university-application service
2 October 2026
Most temporary visa holders in Australia can no longer lodge a Student or Student Guardian visa application there
No longer included unless an exemption applies
Not possible after the visa is granted — no exemptions
Outside Australia when you lodge and when the visa is granted, if you cannot apply onshore
Continue to be assessed under the rules in place when they were lodged
What changed on 2 October 2026
The Department of Home Affairs states that from 2 October 2026 there are new rules for Student visas (subclass 500) and Student Guardian visas (subclass 590). The rules change who can apply for and be granted a visa while in Australia, and whether family members can be included.
Most temporary visa holders in Australia will no longer be able to lodge a Student or Student Guardian visa application while in Australia. That includes a current Student visa holder applying for another Student visa, unless an exemption applies. The same paper states that the changes do not affect your current Student visa.
Home Affairs also states that Australia continues to welcome international students, and that you can still apply for a Student visa if you meet the visa requirements. The rule is about where you apply from and who can be included, not about closing the programme.
Who the change affects
Applying for a Student visa while in Australia
Affected — you will generally need to be outside Australia to lodge
A Student visa holder applying for another Student visa
Affected unless an exemption applies
Including family members in an application
Affected unless an exemption applies
Family members joining you later
Not possible. Home Affairs states there are no exemptions to this rule
A Student Guardian visa holder lodging a further Student Guardian visa in Australia
Still allowed — this route is not affected
Applications lodged before 2 October 2026
Assessed under the rules that were in place when they were lodged
Current Student Guardian visa holders are a specific exception: they can continue to lodge a further Student Guardian visa application while in Australia.
Home Affairs advises that you understand how the new rules affect you before making visa, study, travel or relocation plans.
When you can still apply for another Student visa in Australia
If you are a Student visa holder, the published grounds below are the circumstances in which you may be able to apply for another Student visa while in Australia. They are quoted from the Home Affairs factsheet dated 2 October 2026.
These are grounds in the published rule, not a prediction about your case. Confirm whether one applies to you on the Subclass 500 Student visa page before you rely on it.
Up to 12 more months to finish your course
You need up to 12 more months after your original course end date to complete your studies, and you continue with the same education provider. If you have a package of courses, the course you need more time for must be your main course.
DFAT or Defence sponsorship
You are sponsored by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) or Defence.
PhD study
You are applying to study for a PhD.
Primary or secondary school
You are applying to do primary or secondary school studies.
Progressing to a higher AQF level
You completed your main course that has an Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) level and are progressing to a course at a higher AQF level.
School studies to a course without an AQF level
You completed your school studies and are progressing to a course that does not have an AQF level.
A course without an AQF level to one with an AQF level
You completed a course that does not have an AQF level and are progressing to a course that does have one.
Your provider defaulted
You cannot continue your course because your education provider has defaulted.
One further condition applies to the AQF grounds: if you completed a higher education course, your next course must also be a higher education course delivered by a higher education provider.
If you cannot apply in Australia and do not meet an exemption, you must be outside Australia both when you lodge the application and when the visa is granted.
Family members: who can still be included
Student visa applicants can no longer include family members — a partner and/or dependent children — in their Student visa application unless an exemption applies. This also applies to people lodging an application for a further Student visa.
The published exemption grounds for including family members at the time of application are below. They are narrower than the onshore grounds above, and they are decided by what you are studying or who is funding you.
Bangladesh is not an ASEAN member country and is not a Pacific country, so that particular ground does not read on a Bangladeshi applicant. The other three grounds turn on the course and the sponsor, not on nationality.
Studying a PhD
You are studying a PhD.
DFAT or Defence sponsorship
You are sponsored by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) or Defence.
Foreign government scholarship
You are receiving a foreign government scholarship.
Pacific or ASEAN eligibility
You are an eligible student from a Pacific country or an ASEAN member country.
Family members cannot be added later. Current Student visa holders can no longer add family members (subsequent entrants) after the visa has been granted, and Home Affairs states there are no exemptions to that rule.
If you already have family members included on your current Student visa and you are applying in Australia, you may be able to include them in your next Student visa application. You may also be able to include family members who were already included on your current Student visa if you need up to 12 more months to complete the main course, or if you must lodge a further application because your education provider defaulted.
Location rule: the primary applicant and all family members included in the application must be in the same location when the application is lodged.
If you include a family member who is not eligible to be included, Home Affairs states that their application will be invalid.
What you need to do
1. Check whether you must be outside Australia to apply, or whether an exemption applies to you.
2. If you cannot apply in Australia, leave Australia before you lodge.
3. If you must apply from outside Australia, be outside Australia when the visa is granted as well.
4. Do not lodge in Australia if you are required to be offshore — an application lodged in the wrong place is invalid.
5. Do not include a family member who is not eligible to be included — their application will be invalid.
6. Check current processing times before you make visa, study, travel or financial plans.
If you apply from outside Australia because you cannot apply in Australia, you may return to Australia on another valid visa while the application is processed — but you must be outside Australia when the Student visa is granted, and you will not receive a Bridging visa linked to an application lodged outside Australia.
What this page does not cover
• Fees and the cost of study. No fee is printed on this page; the Australia visa guide carries the visa charges with their source and read date.
• Processing times. Home Affairs publishes a processing-times guide rather than one fixed figure, so no number is printed here.
• The full subclass 500 document checklist. That belongs to the general guide, not to this rule change.
• Whether a specific exemption applies to you. The grounds depend on your course, provider, sponsor or funding. Home Affairs directs applicants to the Subclass 500 Student visa page to confirm, and this page states the grounds as published rather than predicting an outcome.
Questions people ask
Does this change stop Bangladeshi students applying from Bangladesh?
No. The change is about who can apply for and be granted a visa while in Australia. If you apply from Bangladesh you are already outside Australia, and Home Affairs states that Australia continues to welcome international students and that you can still apply for a Student visa if you meet the visa requirements. What does change for an applicant in Bangladesh is the family-member rule below.
Can I still include my partner or children in my Student visa application?
Not unless an exemption applies. Student visa applicants can no longer include family members (partner and/or dependent children) in the application, and this also applies to people lodging an application for a further Student visa. The published exemption grounds are studying a PhD, being sponsored by DFAT or Defence, receiving a foreign government scholarship, and being an eligible student from a Pacific country or an ASEAN member country.
Can I add my family after my Student visa has been granted?
No. Current Student visa holders can no longer add family members (subsequent entrants) after the visa has been granted, and Home Affairs states that there are no exemptions to this rule.
I am already in Australia on a Student visa and want to study further. Can I apply here?
Usually not. A Student visa holder applying for another Student visa is affected unless an exemption applies — for example needing up to 12 more months to complete your studies with the same provider, applying to study a PhD, or progressing to a course at a higher AQF level. If no exemption applies, you must be outside Australia when you lodge and when the visa is granted.
I hold a Student visa as a dependant. Am I affected?
Yes. The factsheet states that the rule also covers people who currently hold a Student visa as a dependant and want to apply for a Student visa as the primary applicant.
What happens if an application is lodged in Australia when it should have been lodged offshore?
It is invalid. Home Affairs states that if you lodge an application in Australia when you are required to be offshore, your application will be invalid, and warns that an invalid outcome could affect your visa status and that you may not be eligible to apply for a further visa if your visa has already expired.
My application was lodged before 2 October 2026. Am I affected?
Student visa applications lodged before the new rules started, including applications that included family members, continue to be assessed under the rules that were in place when they were lodged.
Where these rules come from
Department of Home Affairs, Australian Government: “Changes to Student visa application rules (subclasses 500 & 590)”, including the “Including or adding family members” and “What you need to do” pages, and the factsheet “Changes to Student visa application rules” dated 2 October 2026. All retrieved and read 10 October 2026.
Method: every rule on this page is quoted from the Department of Home Affairs pages and factsheet listed, read on the date shown. No fee and no processing-time figure is printed here, because Home Affairs does not publish a single fixed figure for them on these pages. This page states the published rule and does not predict the outcome of any application. Rules of this kind change — confirm them at the source before you make visa, study, travel or financial plans. Reviewed by the AGB editorial desk.
Prefer to ask first? Open the university-application service or message us on WhatsApp. Related reading: the Study hub · the Australia country guide · the Australia visa guide · the study-abroad match tool · how we check our sources