From 2 October 2026, most people in Australia on a temporary visa can no longer apply for a Student visa (subclass 500) without leaving the country. The student visa changes also stop most students from including a partner or children in their application, and family can no longer be added after the visa is granted.
Most of what has been written about this is addressed to students. We are an employer-sponsored practice, and the part that reaches our clients is a different one. For years a student visa has been what a temporary worker turned to when a job ended, a nomination was refused or a visa was about to expire. For anyone holding a Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482), a Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) or a working holiday visa, that can no longer be done from inside Australia.
Below is what changed, and then what it means if you sponsor workers or are one.
What changed on 2 October 2026
Three instruments were registered on 1 October 2026 and commenced the next day: the Migration Amendment (Student Visa Reform) Regulations 2026, and two supporting instruments, LIN 26/102 and LIN 26/087. They apply to Student visa applications made on or after 2 October 2026. Applications lodged before that date, including those with family members, are assessed under the rules in place when they were lodged. The Department of Home Affairs has published a fact sheet.
Most temporary visa holders must now apply from outside Australia
LIN 26/102 lists the visas whose holders cannot make a valid application in Australia for a Student visa or a Student Guardian visa (subclass 590):
- Temporary Work (Short Stay Specialist) (subclass 400)
- Temporary Work (International Relations) (subclass 403), Domestic Worker (Diplomatic or Consular) stream only
- Training (subclass 407)
- Temporary Activity (subclass 408)
- Working Holiday (subclass 417) and Work and Holiday (subclass 462)
- Temporary Work (Skilled) (subclass 457)
- Skills in Demand (subclass 482), including visas granted under its earlier name, Temporary Skill Shortage
- Temporary Graduate (subclass 485)
- Visitor (subclass 600), Electronic Travel Authority (subclass 601) and eVisitor (subclass 651)
- Medical Treatment (subclass 602)
- Transit (subclass 771) and Maritime Crew (subclass 988)
- Diplomatic (Temporary) (subclass 995), in limited cases
A current student usually has to leave to apply for another student visa
A person who already holds a Student visa and wants another one as the main applicant must now be outside Australia when they apply, unless an exemption applies. That includes someone who holds a Student visa as a family member and wants to become the student.
The Department’s fact sheet lists the exemptions. A student may still be able to apply in Australia if they:
- need up to 12 more months to finish their main course with the same education provider
- are sponsored by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade or Defence
- are applying to study for a PhD
- are applying for primary or secondary school studies
- have completed their main course and are moving to a course at a higher Australian Qualifications Framework level (a completed higher education course must be followed by another higher education course)
- are moving between school, non-award and award study in the ways the fact sheet describes
- cannot continue because their education provider has defaulted.
Where the rules require an offshore application, the person must be outside Australia when the application is lodged and again when the visa is granted. Current Student Guardian visa holders can still apply for a further Student Guardian visa in Australia.
Family members
A Student visa applicant can no longer include a partner or dependent children unless an exemption applies. The fact sheet lists four: PhD students, students sponsored by DFAT or Defence, students on a foreign government scholarship, and eligible students from a Pacific country or an ASEAN member country. Family members already included in a current Student visa may be able to be included in the next application made in Australia.
Adding family after grant, the subsequent entrant application, has ended. The Department states there are no exemptions to that rule.
Why an invalid application is worse than a refusal
The changes operate through the application validity requirements in Schedule 1 to the Migration Regulations 1994. That has a practical consequence people tend to find out too late.
An application made in Australia by someone who is required to apply offshore is not refused. It is not a valid application. No bridging visa comes with it and there is no decision to take to review, so the person’s lawful stay ends when their current visa does.
Anyone thinking of lodging a Student visa application in Australia should check the visa they currently hold against the list above before paying for a course.
What this means for sponsored workers
If your sponsored employment ends
A Skills in Demand (subclass 482) visa holder who stops working for their sponsor has up to 180 days at a time, and no more than 365 days in total across the visa period, to find a new sponsor, be granted a different visa or leave Australia. That is condition 8607.
We have taken the same enquiry many times over the years. The job has ended, no new sponsor is ready, and the worker asks whether enrolling in a course will let them stay. Our answer was always a cautious one, because a course chosen to hold a visa position sits badly with the genuine student requirement. From 2 October the answer for a subclass 482 holder is shorter. That application cannot be made from here.
So the 180 days is now the whole timetable. The next sponsor, and their nomination, have to be organised well inside it. The same restriction applies to a partner or child who holds a subclass 482 visa as a family member.
Graduates and working holiday makers
A Temporary Graduate (subclass 485) visa holder cannot move to a Student visa in Australia, and now a Working Holiday (subclass 417) or Work and Holiday (subclass 462) visa holder cannot either. Training (subclass 407) visa holders, who are already facing a high rate of nomination refusals, are on the list as well.
For these workers the realistic ways to stay are a skilled visa or an employer who will sponsor them. Employers should expect to be asked about sponsorship earlier than they used to be, and with a firmer deadline attached.
Staff who are on student visas
If you employ someone on a Student visa who planned to enrol in another course when the current one finishes, ask which exemption they are relying on. Moving up a level, from a diploma to a bachelor degree for example, can still be applied for in Australia. A second course at the same or a lower level cannot. That application is made offshore and the person stays offshore until it is granted, which for the employer is an absence with no fixed end date.
A person whose Student visa had already ended used to have 28 days to apply for another one in Australia. Our reading is that this has been removed, other than where a tribunal has set aside a visa cancellation.
What we would do now if you employ temporary visa holders
- List every temporary visa holder on your staff, with the visa subclass and the date it ends.
- For each person you want to keep beyond that date, decide now whether you will sponsor them. A Skills in Demand (subclass 482) nomination takes preparation, and it can no longer be started while a student visa covers the gap. Our overview of employer sponsorship visas sets out the options.
- If a sponsored worker’s role is ending, tell them early. Their 180 days is short once a new employer has to become a sponsor and lodge a nomination.
- Do not let anyone on your staff lodge a Student visa application in Australia on the assumption that it will produce a bridging visa. Check the current visa against the list first.
Frequently asked questions
Can I apply for a student visa in Australia if I hold a 482 visa?
No. From 2 October 2026 the Skills in Demand (subclass 482) visa is on the list of visas whose holders must be outside Australia to apply for a Student visa, and outside Australia when it is granted.
Do the changes affect the student visa I already hold?
No. The Department states the changes do not affect a current Student visa. They apply to applications made on or after 2 October 2026.
I lodged my student visa application before 2 October 2026. Which rules apply?
The rules in place when you lodged, including for any family members included in that application.
Can I add my partner to my student visa later?
No. Family members can no longer be added after a Student visa has been granted, and the Department states there are no exemptions.
Can an employer sponsor someone who is in Australia on a student visa?
An employer can nominate a Student visa holder for a Skills in Demand (subclass 482) visa if the role, the salary and the person’s skills and experience meet the requirements. Whether that is available depends on the occupation and the individual, and it needs to be assessed before the Student visa ends.
If this affects someone on your team
If you have a worker whose visa ends in the next twelve months and you had assumed further study would cover the gap, that plan needs to be looked at again now.
Book a consultation and we will work out what is available for them and how long it will take.
Andrew Heathcote, Registered Migration Agent, MARN 0850840
This article is general information only. It is not immigration assistance for your circumstances. The rules described are those in force on 6 October 2026.