Student Visa Changes from 2 October 2026: Onshore Rules

Student visa changes from 2 October 2026: who can still apply from inside Australia?

From 2 October 2026, new rules change who can apply for a Student visa (subclass 500) or Student Guardian visa (subclass 590) while in Australia, and whether family members can be included. The changes are in three legislative instruments registered on 1 October 2026. This page explains how they work for people already in Australia.

The short version

Many people on other temporary visas now need to apply for a Student visa from outside Australia, and be outside Australia when it is granted.
Current Student visa holders applying for another Student visa also need to apply from outside Australia, unless they fall within a specific exemption.
Family members can generally no longer be included in a Student visa application, and cannot be added after the visa is granted, unless an exemption applies.
Applications lodged before 2 October 2026 continue under the rules in place when they were lodged.

Who now needs to apply from outside Australia

If you are in Australia and hold one of the following visas, you must lodge a Student or Student Guardian visa application from outside Australia:

Temporary Work (Short Stay Specialist) 400
Temporary Work (International Relations) 403, Domestic Worker (Diplomatic or Consular) stream only
Training 407 and Temporary Activity 408
Working Holiday 417 and Work and Holiday 462
Temporary Work (Skilled) 457
Skills in Demand 482 and Temporary Skill Shortage 482
Temporary Graduate 485
Visitor 600, Electronic Travel Authority 601 and eVisitor 651
Medical Treatment 602, Transit 771 and Maritime Crew 988
Diplomatic (Temporary) 995, primary holder only

An application lodged in Australia by someone in these groups does not meet the requirements for a valid application, and the Department will not consider it.

If you do not hold a substantive visa

To apply while in Australia, you generally need to hold a substantive visa. A person who does not, for example someone on a bridging visa, can only apply in Australia in two narrow situations. The first is where their last substantive visa was a special purpose visa or a Diplomatic (Temporary) TF visa held as the spouse or dependant of a diplomat, and they apply within 28 days of that visa ending. The second is where their student visa was cancelled, the Administrative Review Tribunal set the cancellation aside after the visa had ended, and they apply within 28 days of being notified of that decision. In either case, the applicant must not have previously been granted a visa based on an application made when they did not hold a substantive visa.

If you already hold a Student visa

A primary applicant who already holds a Student visa must apply from outside Australia for a further one, unless they fall within one of these groups:

Defence students and Foreign Affairs students, as defined in the Migration Regulations
School students
Doctoral students
Students affected by provider default, who apply within 12 months of the default
Students who will complete their principal course within 12 months of the confirmation of enrolment end date, with the same provider
Students who have completed their principal course and are enrolled in no more than one further course at a higher AQF level (higher education students must move to a higher education course at a higher education provider)

Each group has detailed conditions in the instrument. Please read our posts on changing course or provider for more detail. Student visa holders who hold the visa as a family member and want their own Student visa as the primary applicant are also covered by the offshore rule.

Family members

A partner or child can only be included in a Student visa application in limited cases. They include where the student is a Defence or Foreign Affairs student, holds a passport from a Pacific-region country or one of ten listed Southeast Asian countries, is a doctoral student, or is funded by a foreign government scholarship. Family members cannot be added after the visa is granted. Transitional rules protect people who already held, or had applied for, a visa as a family member before 2 October 2026, and children born in Australia after that date to a student who held or had applied for a Student visa at that time. See our post on family members for more detail.

Outside Australia when granted

Where you must apply from outside Australia, you must also be outside Australia when the visa is granted. Planning travel, study dates and visa expiry around this is important.

What this means in practice

Check which visa you hold now, and when it ends, before you enrol in a course or book travel.
If you hold a Student visa and plan a course change, check whether an exemption applies before you lodge.
If you have a partner or children, the family rules are tighter and the exemptions are narrow.
An application that does not meet the location rules will not be considered.

Frequently asked questions

Can I apply for a Student visa in Australia on a 485 visa after 2 October 2026?

No. Holders of a 485 visa must apply from outside Australia and be outside Australia when the visa is granted.

I lodged my application before 2 October. Does this affect me?

Applications lodged before 2 October 2026 are assessed under the rules that applied when they were lodged.

Can I add my partner to my Student visa later?

Not after the visa is granted. At application stage, only some groups can include family.

Do doctoral students have different rules?

Yes. Doctoral students are in an exempt group for both the location rule and family inclusion, subject to the conditions in the instruments.

Contact Us for More Details

Book a Consultation

MARN 1170438