Understanding the 2026 Onshore Rules for Subclass 500 Visas

From 2 October 2026, most people who already hold a Student visa (subclass 500) will not be able to apply for another Student visa while they are in Australia, unless they fit one of a specific set of exceptions. This applies even if you currently hold a Student visa as a dependant and want to apply as the primary applicant. The exceptions include needing up to 12 more months to finish your current course with the same provider, being sponsored by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) or Defence, studying for a PhD, doing primary or secondary school studies, or progressing from a completed course at one Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) level to a course at a higher AQF level.

This article sets out what the Department of Home Affairs has published about the change. A secondary source names an instrument it calls LIN 26/087 in connection with these exceptions, but no official Department of Home Affairs or Federal Register of Legislation page sighted for this article confirms that instrument number, its text, or that it is the source of the exceptions described below. Where a detail has not been published in a form this article can check against an official source, that is stated plainly rather than guessed at.

The core facts the Department of Home Affairs has published are these:

• From 2 October 2026, new rules apply to Student visa (subclass 500) and Student Guardian (subclass 590) visas, changing who can apply for and be granted a visa while in Australia, and whether family members can be included.
• A current Student visa holder applying for another Student visa is affected by the new onshore restriction unless an exemption applies, including a person who currently holds a Student visa as a dependant and wants to apply as the primary applicant.
• Specified exceptions let a Student visa holder apply for another Student visa onshore: needing up to 12 more months after the original course end date to complete studies with the same education provider (and, for a package of courses, the course needing more time must be the main course); being sponsored by DFAT or Defence; applying to study for a PhD; applying for primary or secondary school studies; or having completed a main course at one Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) level - the national system that ranks Australian qualifications such as diplomas and degrees - and progressing to a course at a higher AQF level.

A separate, earlier measure took effect from 1 July 2024, stopping Temporary Graduate, Visitor and Maritime Crew visa holders from applying for a Student visa while in Australia. That is a different and narrower change to the one taking effect on 2 October 2026, and the two should not be read as the same thing.

If you hold a Student visa now and want to apply for another one without leaving Australia, the default position from 2 October 2026 is that you cannot, unless you fall within one of the specified exceptions. This catches a wider group than first appears: it includes a person who is currently a dependant on someone else's Student visa and who wants to become the primary applicant on a new one. Before this change, many Student visa holders could lodge a further application onshore as a matter of course; after it, lodging onshore depends on meeting one of the exception categories below.

Each carries its own conditions, and none of them is a blanket allowance to apply onshore for any reason.

Completing your existing course - the 12-month rule

If you need up to 12 more months after your original course end date to finish your studies, you can apply onshore, but only if you continue studying with the same education provider. If your enrolment is a package of courses, the course you need the extra time for must be your main course, not a preceding or secondary component. This exception is about finishing what you started, not changing provider or starting something new.

Doctoral (PhD) students

The fact sheet does not set out separate sub-conditions for this category beyond the fact of applying for doctoral study, so applicants should confirm their own circumstances against the current enrolment and visa conditions attached to their course.

DFAT or Defence sponsorship

Applicants sponsored by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade or by Defence are a specified exception. This is a sponsorship-based category rather than a course-based one.

Primary or secondary school studies

Applicants applying to do primary or secondary school studies are a specified exception.

Course progression - moving up an AQF level

If you have completed your main course at a given Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) level and are progressing to a course at a higher AQF level, you can apply onshore. The AQF is the national framework that ranks Australian qualifications by level - for example, diploma, bachelor degree, and higher degrees sit at different levels within it. The exception depends on the earlier course having an AQF level and having been completed, and the new course sitting at a higher level in that framework.

A secondary, non-official source attributes a further label - 'provider default' - to this same group of exceptions, alongside the PhD, Defence/Foreign Affairs and principal-course-completion categories. The Department of Home Affairs fact sheet does not itself use the term 'provider default' in the material sighted for this article, and the exact definition of what counts as a provider default, and what a student must show to rely on it, has not been published in a form this article can verify. Anyone wanting to rely on a provider-default exception should ask their registered migration agent or the Department directly what evidence that category requires, rather than assume it mirrors the general meaning of the term.

Myth: If an instrument amending the Student visa rules has been registered on the Federal Register of Legislation, it is already affecting applications.

Fact: Registration and commencement are different steps. An instrument's own provisions set out when it starts to apply, and to which applications - already lodged, pending, or only those made from a future date. The Department of Home Affairs states the subclass 500/590 changes take effect from 2 October 2026; that date, not the registration date of any amending instrument, is what currently governs when the new onshore restriction and its exceptions start to apply.

Check the specific conditions that apply to a partner or child with the Department of Home Affairs. Beyond that statement, this article has not found published material setting out the specific conditions that apply to a partner or child who is not the primary applicant, or confirming whether a primary applicant meeting an onshore exception extends to their family members.

If you have a partner or child who is, or may be, included in a Student visa application, check your specific circumstances directly with the Department of Home Affairs or a registered migration agent before making travel, study or accommodation decisions that depend on the answer.

Course progression is confirmed: a Student visa holder who has completed a main course that carries an AQF level, and who is progressing to a course at a higher AQF level, can apply onshore. What is not confirmed in the material sighted is how a student evidences completion for this purpose, or how a provider or the Department would treat a course that sits outside the AQF altogether (for example, some short or non-award programs).

Provider default is not a term used in the Department of Home Affairs fact sheet material sighted for this article. It appears only in a secondary, non-official source, alongside the PhD, Defence/Foreign Affairs and principal-course-completion categories. Provider default typically refers, in the general ESOS (Education Services for Overseas Students) framework, to circumstances where an education provider fails to start or finish delivering a course it was providing. The Department of Education publishes regulatory information for overseas students, including on provider obligations, which is the appropriate place to check current requirements rather than relying on a secondary description.

This article has not found published material confirming what, if any, changes apply to Visa Application Charge classes for Student visa applicants under the 2026 rules. Check the current charge and any applicable concessions with the Department of Home Affairs before lodging.

These are illustrations built only from the confirmed conditions above.

Example 1 - the 12-month rule. Amara holds a subclass 500 visa tied to a Bachelor of Information Technology with a confirmed course end date of 30 November 2026. Delays mean she now needs until June 2027 to finish, an extra seven months. She is still enrolled with the same education provider and the degree is her main course, not a preceding English-language or foundation component. Because she needs up to 12 more months after her original course end date, stays with the same provider, and the course in question is her main course, she falls within the confirmed completion exception and may be able to apply onshore for a further Student visa. If Amara instead wanted to transfer to a different provider for her remaining months, this exception - on the terms published - would not apply, because it requires continuing with the same provider.

Example 2 - AQF course progression. Dinesh completes an Advanced Diploma (an AQF-level qualification) in mid-2026 and is offered a place in a Bachelor degree at the same or a different provider, which sits at a higher AQF level. Because he has completed a main course that has an AQF level and is progressing to a course at a higher AQF level, he falls within the confirmed course-progression exception. Falling within this exception lets him lodge onshore; the other Student visa criteria still apply, and Dinesh should check these with the Department of Home Affairs or a registered migration agent.

Example 3 - a provider stops delivering a course (illustrative only, category unconfirmed). Suppose a provider stops delivering a course partway through a term. Check with the Department of Home Affairs or the Department of Education's regulatory information for overseas students about how a provider's failure to deliver a course affects your visa options. A student in this position should contact the Department of Education's regulatory information for overseas students and the Department of Home Affairs directly, rather than assume a particular outcome.

Work out, before making any booking, lodgement or travel decision, which of the five confirmed exception categories you might fall within, and gather the specific evidence that category requires as set out in the checklist above. If your situation involves a family member, a provider closure, or a fee question, check that directly with the Department of Home Affairs or a registered migration agent before relying on an assumption.

Global Migrations can review your circumstances against the confirmed exception categories and flag anything that needs direct confirmation from the Department of Home Affairs.

This article is general information about Student visa (subclass 500) rules as published by the Department of Home Affairs, with limited points attributed to a secondary source as noted above. It is not immigration legal advice and does not determine any individual's eligibility, and it should not be read as a statement of official Department of Home Affairs policy in the respects flagged as unverified.