Australian immigration law update · Subclass 407
Applicants generally must now be outside Australia when they apply for a Training visa and when it is granted. An application made from inside Australia on or after that date will generally be invalid.
From 12 November 2026 an applicant generally must be outside Australia when they make a Subclass 407 application. This is a condition of a valid application.
Source: Regulations (opens in a new tab), Home Affairs notice (opens in a new tab)
A separate rule. Even with a valid application, the applicant generally must be outside Australia at the time of grant.
Source: Regulations (opens in a new tab), Explanatory Statement (opens in a new tab)
An application made in Australia on or after 12 November 2026 will generally not be valid, even if ImmiAccount lets you submit it.
Source: Home Affairs notice (opens in a new tab), Explanatory Statement (opens in a new tab)
Valid applications made before 12 November 2026 continue to be assessed under the rules in place when they were lodged.
Source: Home Affairs notice (opens in a new tab), Regulations (opens in a new tab)
The Minister can specify classes of people who may apply and be granted in Australia. We could not find any such instrument as at 30 October 2026.
Source: Regulations (opens in a new tab), Explanatory Statement (opens in a new tab)
Read the right-hand column as the general rule. The exceptions are explained below, not assumed.
Source: Explanatory Statement (opens in a new tab), Regulations (opens in a new tab)
Source: Explanatory Statement (opens in a new tab), Regulations (opens in a new tab)
Source: Home Affairs notice (opens in a new tab), Explanatory Statement (opens in a new tab)
Source: March 2026 regulations (opens in a new tab), Home Affairs notice (opens in a new tab)
Source: Regulations (opens in a new tab), Explanatory Statement (opens in a new tab)
Source: Home Affairs notice (opens in a new tab), Regulations (opens in a new tab)
Source: Home Affairs notice (opens in a new tab), Explanatory Statement (opens in a new tab)
Choose what describes you. The result restates what the regulations and Home Affairs say for that situation. It is not advice on your case.
General information only. It does not assess your own circumstances, and it cannot tell you that an application will succeed.
From 12 November 2026 you generally cannot apply for a Subclass 407 visa from inside Australia.
The new location rule matches where you already are. The rest of the process still applies.
Lodging earlier is not a shortcut. The date is not a guarantee that an application is valid or will succeed.
Home Affairs says the new rules do not apply to a valid application made before 12 November 2026.
Your trainee generally must be outside Australia when they apply and when the visa is granted.
The 29 October regulations do not amend the sponsor or nomination requirements, but the location rule affects when your trainee can apply.
A training organisation that hosts or delivers the program should know which party sponsors and nominates.
Check validity before lodgement, because ImmiAccount will not do it for you.
These summaries restate the sources cited in the sections below.
Do not treat them as one. Meeting the first does not meet the second.
This is a condition of a valid application, in Schedule 1 to the Migration Regulations (subitem 1238(3), table item 2). An applicant “must be outside Australia”, unless they are in a class of people the Minister has specified in a legislative instrument. A person in such a class may apply in or outside Australia, but not while in immigration clearance.
In plain terms: if the condition is not met, no valid application has been made, however the form was submitted.
Source: Regulations (opens in a new tab), Explanatory Statement (opens in a new tab)
This is a criterion for grant, in Schedule 2 (clause 407.411). The applicant “must be outside Australia at the time of grant”, unless they were in a specified class at the time of application. Then they may be in or outside Australia, but not in immigration clearance.
Why it is separate (our reading): it is tested later, when the decision is made. Someone who was outside Australia when they applied could be in Australia at decision time, for example after travelling on another visa, and that would be a problem for this criterion.
Source: Regulations (opens in a new tab), Explanatory Statement (opens in a new tab), Home Affairs notice (opens in a new tab)
| Concept | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Outside Australia when applying | A condition of a valid application, in Schedule 1 to the Migration Regulations (subitem 1238(3), table item 2). Unless the applicant is in a class the Minister has specified, they must be outside Australia. | Regulations |
| 2 Outside Australia when granted | A criterion for grant, in Schedule 2 (clause 407.411). It is tested separately, when the decision is made. Being outside Australia on the day of lodgement does not satisfy it. | Regulations |
| 3 Application validity | A threshold question. Under section 46 of the Migration Act, an application that does not meet the prescribed requirements is not a valid application. | Explanatory Statement |
| 4 Visa grant eligibility | Asked only of a valid application. Home Affairs assesses it against all the visa’s criteria. Lodging an application does not guarantee the visa will be granted. | Home Affairs notice |
| 5 Invalid versus refused | An invalid application is not a valid application at all. A refusal is a decision on a valid application. The consequences and the review rights differ. | Explanatory Statement, Home Affairs notice |
| 6 Merits review | Home Affairs says a decision that an application is invalid cannot be merits reviewed. The Explanatory Statement says merits review remains available to people refused the grant of a Subclass 407 visa. Whether a given decision can be reviewed turns on that decision. | Home Affairs notice, Explanatory Statement |
| 7 Bridging visas | Home Affairs says you will not receive a bridging visa linked to an application lodged outside Australia. Its bridging visa page says nearly all bridging visas are applied for automatically with a substantive visa application. Check what you hold in VEVO. The pages we read do not say whether a valid pre-12 November onshore application generates one. | Home Affairs notice, Home Affairs bridging visa page |
| 8 Current visa and lawful stay | Home Affairs says lodging an invalid application may affect your visa status, and that if your visa has already expired you may not be eligible to apply for another visa. It does not set out the full consequences, and neither do we. | Home Affairs notice |
| 9 Applications lodged before 12 November | The amendments apply only to applications made on or after commencement (Schedule 13, item 16701). Valid earlier applications are assessed under the rules at lodgement, including the grant-location rule that applied then. | Regulations, Home Affairs notice |
| 10 Applications on or after 12 November | These are all under the new rules, and that includes 12 November itself. The sources do not address the time of day, so do not plan around the last hours. | Regulations, Explanatory Statement |
Source: Regulations (opens in a new tab), Explanatory Statement (opens in a new tab), Home Affairs notice (opens in a new tab)
Source: Regulations (opens in a new tab), Home Affairs notice (opens in a new tab), March 2026 regulations (opens in a new tab)
What Home Affairs says, and where its pages stop.
What we cannot tell you from these sources: the full effect on any one person’s status or on future applications. That depends on your visa, your dates and your history, so please get advice before you act, not after.
Source: Home Affairs notice (opens in a new tab), Explanatory Statement (opens in a new tab)
A planning list drawn from Home Affairs’ own advice and the regulations. Tick items as you go: your ticks are not saved or sent anywhere.
0 of 13 considered
Important: doing everything here before 12 November 2026 does not guarantee that an application is valid, or that a visa will be granted. It only prepares you.
Home Affairs must have approved your organisation as a temporary activities sponsor before the trainee can make a valid application. Eligible organisations include organisations lawfully operating in Australia, government agencies, foreign government agencies and religious institutions.
Unless you are an Australian Commonwealth Government agency, you must nominate the trainee for a program of occupational training and Home Affairs must approve the nomination before they apply. The nomination describes the nominee, the training, and how and where it will happen.
Source: Home Affairs visa page (opens in a new tab), March 2026 regulations (opens in a new tab)
From 12 November 2026 the trainee generally must be outside Australia when they apply and when the visa is granted. A trainee already in Australia on another visa generally cannot make a valid application from here.
Allow for sponsor and nomination approval first, then the trainee’s application, then the grant, with the trainee outside Australia when the visa is granted. Home Affairs says processing times vary, so avoid fixing a start date to an expected grant date.
Source: Home Affairs notice (opens in a new tab), Home Affairs visa page (opens in a new tab)
Tell them early about the location rules, that lodging does not guarantee a grant, and not to arrange travel until Home Affairs tells them in writing that the visa is granted.
Source: Home Affairs notice (opens in a new tab), Home Affairs visa page (opens in a new tab)
You must provide the nominated training program, follow workplace laws (Home Affairs says all work must be paid, and training arrangements must comply with them), and tell Home Affairs in ImmiAccount of changes such as a trainee who does not start or ends early.
Home Affairs’ page on becoming a temporary activities sponsor (opens in a new tab) sets out how to apply. We can also help organisations plan sponsorship, nomination and trainee timing: see our employer sponsored visa services.
The March rules are about who sponsors you. The November rules are about where you are. Both must be met.
The Explanatory Statement to the March regulations records a significant increase in onshore Subclass 407 applications from the middle of 2024, and integrity concerns.
Migration Amendment (Training Visas—Sponsorship Requirements) Regulations 2026 are made.
In force for applications made on or after this date. An applicant needs an approved temporary activities sponsor and, unless the sponsor is a Commonwealth agency, an approved nomination (approval not ceased, and identified in the application) before they can make a valid application.
Made on 29 October 2026 and registered on the Federal Register on 30 October 2026. Home Affairs published its notice, last updated 30 October 2026.
Source: Regulations (opens in a new tab)
Applicants generally must be outside Australia when they apply and when the visa is granted. Applies to applications made on or after this date.
Source: Regulations (opens in a new tab)
| Topic | March 2026 (in force 11 March) | November 2026 (from 12 November) |
|---|---|---|
| What it regulates | Who is sponsoring you and whether the training has been approved | Where you are when you apply and when the visa is granted |
| The legal test | A condition of a valid application | A condition of a valid application and a criterion for grant |
| Applies to | Applications made on or after 11 March 2026 | Applications made on or after 12 November 2026 |
| Exception | A Commonwealth agency sponsor does not nominate a training program | A class of people specified by the Minister in a legislative instrument (none verified) |
| Stated purpose | Integrity: stop applications for purposes other than genuine training | Integrity: the visa is not a way to extend a stay in Australia |
| How they work together | Both must be met. A person in Australia after 12 November still cannot make a valid application, even with an approved sponsor and nomination. | An approved sponsor and nomination do not cure an application made from inside Australia. |
Source: March 2026 regulations (opens in a new tab), Regulations (opens in a new tab), Explanatory Statement (opens in a new tab)
Background only. The changes above come first for a reason.
Workplace-based training to improve your skills for your current occupation, area of tertiary study or field of expertise, or a professional development training program.
Home Affairs says it is not for ongoing work or for filling workforce shortages. It says all work undertaken in Australia must be paid, and points to the Fair Work Ombudsman for required minimum wages.
An approved temporary activities sponsor and, unless the sponsor is a Commonwealth agency, an approved nomination. Three types of occupational training are covered: required for registration, to improve skills in an eligible occupation, and for capacity building overseas.
Home Affairs says the visa may be granted for up to 2 years. It cannot be extended, and a new Training visa needs continuing sponsorship. If your training program changes, Home Affairs says you need a new visa application once the new nomination is approved. From 12 November 2026 that new application must generally be made from outside Australia.
Usually 18 or over when the visa is decided, meeting health requirements, and being able to support yourself and any family with you.
You can leave and re-enter Australia as many times as you like while the visa is valid. Time spent outside Australia does not extend it.
Source: Home Affairs visa page (opens in a new tab), Explanatory Statement (opens in a new tab)
Three separate stages. Each one needs its own approval or decision.
The organisation applies to become a temporary activities sponsor. You cannot make a valid application until Home Affairs has approved it.
The sponsor nominates you and describes the training: who, what it is, and how and where it will happen. Home Affairs must approve it first. A Commonwealth agency sponsor does not nominate.
Identity, the sponsor and nomination approval letters, the sponsor’s written statement, and proof of financial support and health insurance.
From 12 November 2026, leave Australia before you apply, and before your current visa expires. Check whether you need a health examination.
Apply while outside Australia, then respond promptly to requests for information.
Processing times vary and are a guide only. Lodging does not guarantee a grant.
Do not arrange travel until Home Affairs tells you in writing that the visa is granted.
Mistake: Assuming that submitting through ImmiAccount means the application is valid.
Instead: Home Affairs says an application made in Australia is invalid even if ImmiAccount allows you to submit it. Check validity yourself before you lodge.
Mistake: Ignoring the 12 November date.
Instead: It applies to applications made on or after that day, including 12 November itself.
Mistake: Mixing up the application rule and the grant rule.
Instead: They are separate. Being outside Australia when you lodge does not satisfy the requirement to be outside Australia when the visa is granted.
Mistake: Believing that lodging before 12 November automatically gives a valid application.
Instead: It must still meet every validity requirement, including the approved sponsor and nomination. The date helps only a valid application.
Mistake: Leaving sponsorship and nomination until after you apply.
Instead: Since 11 March 2026 both must be approved before a valid application can be made.
Mistake: Booking travel back to Australia around an expected grant date.
Instead: Home Affairs says processing times vary, and you must be outside Australia when the visa is granted.
Mistake: Leaving without checking your current visa’s expiry or conditions.
Instead: Check them in VEVO. Home Affairs says to leave before your current visa expires.
Mistake: Treating a technical invalid decision like an ordinary refusal.
Instead: Home Affairs says a decision that an application is invalid cannot be merits reviewed.
Two location rules start for Subclass 407 (Training) visa applications made on or after that date. The applicant generally must be outside Australia when they apply, and outside Australia when the visa is granted. An application made from inside Australia will generally be invalid.
Until 11 November 2026 the location rule has not changed, so a valid application could be made in Australia, if every other requirement is met, including an approved sponsor and an approved nomination. From 12 November 2026 an application made in Australia will generally be invalid, unless you are in a class of people the Minister has specified.
Yes. Home Affairs says to apply through ImmiAccount while outside Australia, after your sponsor and nomination have been approved. Applying does not guarantee the visa will be granted.
You must be outside Australia at the time of grant. Home Affairs says you may travel to Australia on another valid visa while the application is processed, but it also says processing times vary and not to plan your return around an expected grant date, so timing matters.
A valid application made before 12 November 2026 continues to be assessed under the rules in place when it was lodged. It must still be valid when made: the sponsor must be an approved temporary activities sponsor and the nomination must be approved, unless the sponsor is a Commonwealth agency.
The amendments apply to applications made on or after 12 November 2026, so a lodgement on that day is under the new rules. The sources we read do not discuss time zones or time of day, so do not plan around the last hours before the date.
The application will generally not be valid. Home Affairs says this may affect your visa status, that you may not be eligible to apply for another visa if your visa has already expired, and that a decision that the application is invalid cannot be merits reviewed.
Do not rely on it. Home Affairs says an application made in Australia from 12 November 2026 is invalid even if ImmiAccount allows you to submit it, so check validity yourself before you lodge.
Home Affairs says valid applications made before 12 November 2026 will be assessed under the rules in place at lodgement, including family members on the application and the changes that came into effect on 11 March 2026.
Home Affairs says you may travel to Australia on another valid visa while it processes your application, and you must follow that visa’s conditions. It also says you must be outside Australia when the Training visa is granted, and not to make travel plans based on an expected grant date.
Home Affairs says you will not receive a bridging visa linked to an application lodged outside Australia. For other situations, check what you hold in VEVO. The pages we read do not say whether a valid onshore application made before 12 November generates one.
Home Affairs says to leave Australia before your current visa expires and to apply from outside. Whether an application will succeed depends on your sponsor, your nomination and your own circumstances, which we cannot assess here.
Hold approval as a temporary activities sponsor and get the nomination approved before the trainee applies, unless you are a Commonwealth agency. Tell prospective trainees about the location rules and plan start dates around them. Your sponsor obligations continue.
Yes. Since 11 March 2026 an application is only valid if the sponsor is approved and the nomination is approved, unless the sponsor is a Commonwealth agency. The November changes add the location rules to that requirement. They do not replace it.
The regulations allow the Minister to specify, in a legislative instrument, classes of people who may apply and be granted in Australia. The Explanatory Statement gives examples of reasons such as genuine skills needs and family unity, but we could not find any instrument as at 30 October 2026, and Home Affairs’ notice does not mention one. Check before relying on an exception.
No. An invalid application is not a valid application at all, so there is no valid application to assess. A refusal is a decision on a valid application. Home Affairs says an invalid decision cannot be merits reviewed; the Explanatory Statement says merits review remains available if the grant of a visa is refused. Check the review rights stated in any decision notice.
No. Home Affairs says you cannot stay longer by extending this visa, though you can apply for another visa. A new Training visa needs continuing sponsorship and you may need to explain why the training was not completed in the first period. From 12 November 2026 any new Training visa application, including one needed after a change of training program, must generally be made from outside Australia.
We can go through where you are, your visa expiry, your sponsor and nomination status, and the timing of an application. We cannot promise a visa or a particular result, and the decision is Home Affairs’.
Everything below is Australian Government information. The explanation around it is ours.
Last reviewed: 30 October 2026. This is the date we last read the sources, not a promise that nothing has changed since. It was prepared by the Global Migrations editorial team, and review by our registered migration agent, Ranbir Singh (MARN 1069570), is pending. Instruments can be made, and Home Affairs updates its pages, at short notice.
This is general information, not personal migration advice, and it is not legal advice. It does not take account of your circumstances. Global Migrations is the trading name of Global Migration & Education Solutions (ABN 22 998 014 414); our registered migration agent is Ranbir Singh, MARN 1069570. We are not part of the Australian Government.