If you're planning a further Student visa, hoping to bring your partner or children with you, or currently hold almost any other temporary visa in Australia, it's worth knowing the changes to Student visa applications that took effect on 2 October 2026. The changes affect where some applicants can lodge from and when family members can be included, so understanding them early makes it easier to plan your next step. 

Here's exactly what changed, whether it applies to you, and what to do next.

Does This Affect You?

You're likely affected if any of these sound like you:

• You hold a Student visa and want to apply for another one
• You hold a Student visa as a dependant and want to apply as the main applicant
• You hold a working holiday, visitor, 482, 485, or most other temporary visas and are considering a Student visa
• You're hoping to bring, or add, a partner or children to a Student visa

If none of these apply, and you're not touching your visa before it expires, this round of changes doesn't change anything for you. If one or more does apply, keep reading, the exemptions below could still work in your favour.

Applying for a Further Student Visa While in Australia

If you already hold a Student visa and want to apply for another one, you'll now generally need to be outside Australia both when you lodge the application and when the visa is granted. This also applies if you currently hold a Student visa as a dependent and now want to apply as the main applicant.

There are exemptions, and they're worth checking carefully before you assume either way.

Current Student Guardian visa holders aren't caught by this particular rule. They can still lodge a further Student Guardian visa application while in Australia.

If none of the exemptions above fit your situation, plan to lodge from outside Australia, and stay outside Australia until the visa is granted.

Visa Holders Affected By Onshore Student Visa Application 

Separately, a specific list of visa holders can't make a valid Student or Student Guardian visa application while in Australia, regardless of whether they'd otherwise qualify under an exemption above. 

Here are the visa subclasses affected by the change:

If you hold one of these visas, you'll need to apply for your Student or Student Guardian visa from outside Australia, even if you'd otherwise qualify under one of the course or provider-based exemptions above. Check your current visa subclass against this list before you assume either way.

Including or Adding Family Members

The changes also affect how family members can be included in Student visa applications, and this part of the rules works differently from the exemptions above. Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke mentioned the change at a National Press Club address earlier in September, and it took effect alongside the other changes on 2 October 2026.

A Student visa applicant generally can no longer include family members in their application, and this applies to further Student visa applications too. More significantly, current Student visa holders can no longer add family members (as "subsequent entrants") after their visa has already been granted. There are no exemptions to this part of the rule, so this is a decision that needs to be made before you apply, not after.

You may still be able to include family members at the time you apply if you are:

• Studying for a PhD
• Sponsored by DFAT or Defence
• Receiving a foreign government scholarship
• An eligible student from a Pacific country or an ASEAN member country

If you already have family members included in your current Student visa and you're applying for your next one while in Australia, you may be able to include them again in that next application. The primary applicant and every family member included must be in the same location when it's lodged.

If you Already Applied Before 2 October 2026

If your application, including one that included family members, was lodged before the new rules started, nothing changes. It's assessed under the rules that were in place when you lodged it. The changes aren't retrospective.

Still Working Out What this Means for You?

While the changes do narrow some options, many students and families still have a clear way forward. Planning ahead usually comes down to a few practical steps:

• Check your current visa subclass against the list above to see whether an onshore application is possible at all.
• Check whether an exemption applies to your course situation, such as finishing your current course, progressing to a higher AQF level, PhD study, or provider default.
• If an onshore application isn't available, plan your timing so you can lodge from outside Australia and remain outside until the visa is granted.
• If family members are part of your plans, decide who to include before you lodge and most importantly check whether you meet an exemption, since family members can no longer be added after the visa is granted.

Book a consultation with one of our registered migration agents to talk through your visa, your course timeline and your family plans, and to work out which option suits your situation