The student visa changes from October 2026 are the biggest shake-up to onshore study applications in years. From 2 October 2026, most people in Australia on a temporary visa can no longer lodge a Student visa (subclass 500) from inside the country, most current students can no longer "re-apply" onshore to switch courses, and most new student applications can no longer include a partner or children. If you are planning to study in Australia, extend your studies or bring your family, these rules decide where you apply from, who can come with you and how much the move will cost.

This guide explains exactly what changed, who is exempt, what it means for applicants from India and Malaysia, and what to do next. It is based on the Department of Home Affairs factsheet and the legislation registered on 1 October 2026, and is current as at 9 October 2026.

Student visa changes October 2026: key facts

• Start date: applications lodged on or after 2 October 2026.
• Visas covered: Student visa (subclass 500) and Student Guardian visa (subclass 590).
• Onshore lodgement: holders of 17 listed temporary visas (including 600, 485, 482, 417 and 462) must apply from outside Australia, and must also be outside Australia when the visa is granted.
• Current students: generally cannot lodge another Student visa onshore unless an exemption applies, such as finishing the same course or moving up an AQF level.
• Family members: most applicants can no longer include a partner or children. ASEAN (including Malaysia) and Pacific passport holders, PhD students, DFAT/Defence sponsored students and foreign government scholarship holders are exempt.
• Adding family later: no longer possible for current Student visa holders. Home Affairs says there are no exemptions.
• Already lodged? Applications lodged before 2 October 2026 are assessed under the old rules. Your current visa is not affected.

Why Home Affairs made these changes

The government's stated aim is to stop "visa hopping": people who came to Australia for a non-study purpose (a holiday, a working holiday, a sponsored job, a graduate visa) and then used a Student visa to extend their stay. The explanatory statement for the new instrument says this directly. The changes also follow the reforms the Minister announced on 17 September 2026, which we covered in our overview of Australia's new migration rules from September 2026.

Three legal instruments do the work:

• Migration Amendment (Student Visa Reform) Regulations 2026 (F2026L01347), which changes the Student visa criteria in the Migration Regulations 1994.
• The ministerial instrument (F2026L01348, LIN 26/102), which lists the 17 visa classes whose holders must apply from outside Australia.
• A related instrument (F2026L01349) setting out further family-related exceptions.

Change 1: most temporary visa holders must apply offshore

Before 2 October 2026, holders of Visitor (600) and Temporary Graduate (485) visas were already blocked from lodging a Student visa onshore. That restriction began on 1 July 2024. The new instrument extends the list to 17 classes. If you hold any of these visas, an application lodged while you are in Australia is not a valid application. Home Affairs will not consider it, and you do not get a bridging visa from it.

Visa you currently hold	Can you apply for a 500 or 590 onshore from 2 Oct 2026?
Subclass 400 Temporary Work (Short Stay Specialist)	No, apply offshore
Subclass 403 Temporary Work (International Relations), Domestic Worker (Diplomatic or Consular) stream only	No, apply offshore
Subclass 407 Training	No, apply offshore
Subclass 408 Temporary Activity	No, apply offshore
Subclass 417 Working Holiday	No, apply offshore
Subclass 457 Temporary Work (Skilled)	No, apply offshore
Subclass 462 Work and Holiday	No, apply offshore
Subclass 482 Skills in Demand / Temporary Skill Shortage	No, apply offshore
Subclass 485 Temporary Graduate	No, apply offshore
Subclass 600 Visitor	No, apply offshore
Subclass 601 Electronic Travel Authority	No, apply offshore
Subclass 602 Medical Treatment	No, apply offshore
Subclass 651 eVisitor	No, apply offshore
Subclass 771 Transit	No, apply offshore
Subclass 988 Maritime Crew	No, apply offshore
Subclass 995 Diplomatic (Temporary), primary holders	No, apply offshore
Subclass 500 Student (applying again as primary applicant)	Only if an exemption applies (see below)
Subclass 590 Student Guardian (applying for a further 590)	Yes, onshore lodgement is still allowed

Two details catch people out. First, if you must apply from outside Australia, you must also be outside Australia when the visa is granted. You cannot lodge from Delhi and then fly back on a visitor visa to wait. Second, the regulations also capture people whose Student visa ceased in the last 28 days, with only a narrow exception linked to certain Administrative Review Tribunal decisions. Letting your visa expire and lodging a few days later is not a workaround.

Change 2: current students can only re-apply onshore in limited cases

If you already hold a Student visa and want a new one as the primary applicant, you now generally have to leave Australia to apply. This also applies to someone who came as a dependant on a parent's or partner's Student visa and now wants their own. You can still apply onshore if one of these exemptions fits:

Exemption	What you must show
Finishing your course	You have started your main course but not finished it, you are staying with the same provider, and you need no more than 12 extra months beyond the end date on your original CoE.
Moving up an AQF level	You have completed your main course and are enrolled in no more than one further course at a higher AQF level. If your completed course was higher education, the next one must also be higher education with a higher education provider.
School to non-AQF course	You have finished school and are moving to a course without an AQF level, such as ELICOS.
Non-AQF to AQF course	You have finished a course without an AQF level (for example ELICOS) and are moving to one that has one.
PhD	You are applying to study a doctoral degree.
School students	You are applying for primary or secondary school study.
DFAT or Defence sponsored	Your studies are sponsored by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade or Defence.
Provider default	Your education provider has defaulted and you cannot continue your course.

What is not on the list matters as much. Moving sideways (one Master's to another) or downwards (Bachelor to Diploma, Master's to VET) is not an onshore exemption. Changing providers to continue an unfinished course is not covered by the "finishing your course" exemption either, because that one requires the same provider. Students who planned to "park" in a cheaper VET course after a degree while waiting on a skills assessment or state nomination will need to rethink.

Meeting an exemption only makes your application valid. You still have to satisfy every other Student visa requirement, including the Genuine Student requirement, financial capacity, English, health and character. A higher AQF course that has no clear link to your study history can still be refused.

Change 3: partners and children are now restricted

This is the change most Indian families will feel. From 2 October 2026, most new Student visa applicants cannot include a partner or dependent children. Current Student visa holders can no longer add family members after grant as "subsequent entrants", and Home Affairs states there are no exemptions to this rule.

You can still include family members at the time of application if you are:

• applying to study a PhD;
• sponsored by DFAT or Defence;
• receiving a foreign government scholarship; or
• an eligible student holding a passport from a Pacific country or an ASEAN member country.

Two further points from the Home Affairs factsheet:

• If your family is already included on your current Student visa and you apply for another one in Australia, you may be able to include them again.
• The primary applicant and every family member must be in the same location when the application is lodged: everyone in Australia, or everyone outside Australia.

What the changes mean for applicants from India and Malaysia

Applicants from India

India is not an ASEAN or Pacific country, so the family exemption does not help most Indian students. A married student applying for a Master's by coursework will generally have to come alone. Their partner would need a separate visa in their own right, such as a visitor visa for a short trip, which is assessed on its own merits and is not a substitute for living together in Australia. PhD candidates and students on an Indian government scholarship are the main exceptions. If you are in this position, check the scholarship wording carefully: it needs to be a foreign government scholarship, not a university fee discount.

The onshore rules also hit a common Indian pathway: Student visa, then 485, then a second Student visa to stay while chasing points or a state nomination. A 485 holder already had to apply offshore, and that is now joined by 482, 417 and 462 holders. Plan your 485 period with your end goal fixed early. Our 485 visa requirements guide for 2026 covers that stage in detail, and our Australia student visa from India 2026 guide covers the full offshore application.

Applicants from Malaysia

Malaysia is an ASEAN member country, which puts Malaysian passport holders in a better position. Eligible students holding an ASEAN passport can still include a partner and children when they apply. The Home Affairs pricing page also notes that a lower visa cost may apply to eligible citizens of ASEAN member countries, Pacific Island countries and Timor-Leste, so check current visa pricing on the Home Affairs website before you budget. The onshore lodgement rules still apply to Malaysians, so a Malaysian on a Working Holiday or Visitor visa must still go home to apply.

The family exemption depends on the passport the primary applicant holds, not where they live. An Indian citizen living in Kuala Lumpur does not qualify through Malaysian residence.

Step by step: what to do if you are affected

1. Check your current visa in VEVO. Confirm the subclass, stream and expiry. A 482 holder and a 482 secondary holder are both caught; a 403 holder is only caught if they are in the Domestic Worker stream.
2. Work out whether you can lodge onshore. If you hold one of the 17 listed visas, you cannot. If you hold a Student visa, check each exemption in the table above against your CoE dates and AQF levels.
3. Decide on family before you lodge. If you need your partner or children with you and you are not exempt, a Student visa may not be the right pathway. Consider partner, skilled or employer sponsored options instead.
4. If you must apply offshore, plan the timing. You need to leave, lodge from outside Australia and stay outside until grant. Check that your current visa's conditions and your work, lease and course start dates fit around that gap.
5. Prepare a full application. CoE, Genuine Student answers, financial evidence, English results, OSHC and health checks still apply. Offshore lodgement does not lower the bar.
6. Keep evidence of exemptions. If you rely on the 12-month completion exemption or AQF progression, include transcripts, your original and new CoE, and a letter from your provider explaining the extension or progression.

Common mistakes we are already seeing

• Lodging onshore and hoping for the best. An invalid application is not refused; it is simply not considered. You lose time, the visa you hold keeps running down, and you get no bridging visa.
• Assuming a course change counts as "progression". A second Master's, or a switch from a Bachelor to a Diploma, is not progression to a higher AQF level.
• Flying back before grant. If you must apply offshore, you must be offshore at grant too. Returning on another visa while waiting can mean the Student visa cannot be granted.
• Planning to bring family "later". Subsequent entrant applications are closed for Student visa holders, with no exemptions. If family must come, they need to be in the original application and you need to be exempt.
• Letting a Student visa lapse to "reset". The 28-day rule for former Student visa holders blocks this.
• Relying on old blog posts. Much of what was written before October 2026 about onshore course changes and adding dependants is now out of date.

Does this affect my current visa or a pending application?

No. Your current Student visa keeps its existing conditions and expiry date. Applications lodged before 2 October 2026, including those with family members, are assessed under the rules in place when they were lodged. The new rules apply to your next application. If you are close to your course end date, start planning that next step now, not in the final month.

How EazyViza can help

EazyViza is backed by Collins Quarters, a migration and commercial law firm with offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Chennai and Kuala Lumpur, so we work with students in India, Malaysia and onshore in Australia every day. Since 2 October we have been helping clients with three questions: "Can I still lodge onshore?", "Does my course change count as progression?" and "Can my family come with me?"

• We check your visa history and CoE dates against each exemption before you lodge.
• We prepare offshore subclass 500 applications, including Genuine Student responses and financial evidence.
• Where the student pathway no longer fits your family plans, we map out alternatives such as partner, skilled or employer sponsored visas.

Not sure where you stand? Start with our free eligibility checker or book an initial assessment with our team.

Disclaimer

This article is general information only and is not legal or migration advice. It reflects the Department of Home Affairs factsheet and the instruments registered on 1 October 2026, as at 9 October 2026. Migration law and policy change often, and the exemptions are assessed case by case. Get advice on your own circumstances before you lodge an application, leave Australia or change your visa arrangements. Always confirm current requirements and charges on the Home Affairs Student visa page.