Quick Overview: Overseas Students in Australia Today
Australia remains one of the top destinations for overseas students, but the rules have shifted more in the last two years than in the previous decade.
If you’re planning to study in Australia, you need the Student visa (subclass 500). It covers every level of study, from school and English language courses through to vocational training, undergraduate degrees, and PhDs.
For 2026, the government has set a National Planning Level of 295,000 new international student commencements, up from 270,000 in 2025. That’s more places overall, but they now come with tighter screening, higher costs, and a processing system that rewards compliant education providers.
The sections below walk through exactly what’s changed, sourced directly from the Department of Home Affairs and Study Australia’s official updates, and what each change means for your application.
1. The Genuine Student Requirement Replaced the Old GTE Test
From 23 March 2024, the Genuine Student (GS) requirement replaced the old Genuine Temporary Entrant (GTE) requirement for every Student visa application.
This wasn’t a cosmetic rename. The GTE test asked you to prove you only intended to stay temporarily. The GS requirement doesn’t require that anymore. It acknowledges that eligible graduates may go on to apply for permanent residency, and instead focuses on whether your course, your background, and your goals genuinely fit together.
What the GS Questions Actually Ask
Instead of one long personal statement, you now answer a set of targeted questions inside your ImmiAccount, each limited to around 150 words. The questions cover:
- Your current circumstances, including ties to family, community, and employment at home
- Why you chose this course and why you chose Australia
- How the course benefits your career or study goals
- Any previous study history in Australia
- Your reasons for applying for a Student visa if you currently hold a different visa
A generic, copy-pasted answer is one of the fastest ways to trigger a refusal. Case officers compare your GS answers against your financial documents, your course level, and your study history, and any mismatch gets flagged.
2. Financial Requirements Have Gone Up Twice
You need to prove you can support yourself financially for the length of your course, and that threshold has increased twice in under a year.
The amount is pegged to 75% of the national minimum wage, which is why it keeps moving. Here’s how it’s changed:
| Category | Before Oct 2023 | Oct 2023 – May 2024 | From 10 May 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary applicant (annual) | AUD 21,041 | AUD 24,505 | AUD 29,710 |
| Partner | — | AUD 8,574 | AUD 10,394 |
| Dependent child | — | AUD 3,670 | AUD 4,449 |
| Annual school costs (if applicable) | — | AUD 9,661 | AUD 13,502 |
These figures cover living costs only. You’ll still need to separately show tuition fees, return airfare, and Overseas Student Health Cover on top of this amount.
Acceptable evidence includes bank statements (usually no older than 28 days at lodgement), an education loan approval, a scholarship letter, or a formal sponsorship letter with matching bank records. Vague or unverifiable financial evidence is one of the most common reasons applications stall.
3. English Language Requirements Are Stricter
From the same date, 23 March 2024, minimum English scores went up across the board.
Student Visa (Subclass 500) English Scores
- Main course of study: IELTS 6.0 overall (or equivalent), up from 5.5
- Packaged ELICOS before your main course: IELTS 5.0, up from 4.5
- Foundation or recognised pathway programs: IELTS 5.5
If you’re studying English only through ELICOS, doing full-time school, or you’re a postgraduate research student, these changes don’t apply to you.
Temporary Graduate Visa (Subclass 485) English Scores
- Overall score: IELTS 6.5 (or equivalent), up from 6.0, with a minimum of 5.5 in each of reading, writing, speaking, and listening
- Test validity window: reduced from 3 years to 1 year before you apply
- Exemption: Hong Kong and British National Overseas (BNO) passport holders stay at the previous IELTS 6.0 requirement
If your test result is close to these thresholds, retesting before you apply is often worth it. The gap between Competent and Proficient English can be the difference between an approval and a request for further information.
4. Visa Fees Have Nearly Tripled Since 2024
This is the change that catches the most people off guard, because it’s happened in three separate jumps.
| Effective date | Student visa (500) fee | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Before 1 July 2024 | AUD 710 | — |
| 1 July 2024 | AUD 1,600 | +125% |
| 1 July 2025 | AUD 2,000 | +25% |
| 1 July 2026 | AUD 2,500 | +25% |
That’s a total increase of more than 250% in two years. Pacific Island and Timor-Leste applicants, along with some ELICOS and non-award applicants, retain concessional rates.
The Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) fee jumped even harder: AUD 2,300 before March 2026, doubling to AUD 4,600 on 1 March 2026, then rising again to AUD 5,750 from 1 July 2026.
Fees are adjusted almost every year now, so always check the current figure on the Home Affairs Visa Pricing Estimator before you budget, rather than relying on a number from an old blog post.
5. New Processing Rules: Ministerial Direction 115
If you’re applying from outside Australia, how fast your visa gets processed now depends heavily on which institution you’ve chosen, not just your own application quality.
Ministerial Direction 115 (MD115) took effect on 14 November 2025, replacing the previous Direction 111. It sets a three-tier priority system for offshore Student visa applications, tied to how well each provider manages its enrolment numbers against its allocation under the National Planning Level.
The Three Processing Priorities
| Priority | Typical processing time | Who it applies to |
|---|---|---|
| Priority 1 (Highest) | 1–4 weeks | School students, standalone ELICOS, TAFE providers, PhD/research students, scholarship-sponsored students, Pacific and Timor-Leste applicants, and applications involving a minor |
| Priority 2 (Medium) | 5–8 weeks | Higher education and VET students at providers that have reached 80% of their 2025 New Overseas Student Commencement allocation |
| Priority 3 (Lowest) | 9–12 weeks | Higher education and VET students at providers that have exceeded 115% of their allocation |
This means two students with near-identical applications can get very different outcomes purely based on which college or university they enrolled with. Before you commit to a provider, it’s worth asking how close they are to their allocation for the year.
The 2026 National Planning Level
The government has set the 2026 National Planning Level at 295,000 New Overseas Student Commencements, an increase of 25,000 places over 2025. No currently active provider will receive fewer places in 2026 than they had in 2025, and public universities can request additional places if demand warrants it.
6. You Can No Longer Switch to a Student Visa Onshore
This is one of the more overlooked changes, and it affects anyone currently in Australia on a different visa type.
From 1 July 2024, holders of a Visitor visa (subclass 600), a Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485), and several other temporary visa types can no longer apply for a Student visa while they’re in Australia. The application has to be lodged from offshore.
This closed what the government called “visa hopping,” where over 36,000 people moved from a visitor visa onto a student visa between mid-2023 and mid-2024 alone. Working Holiday visa holders (subclasses 417 and 462) are not affected by this change.
If you’re currently on a visitor visa and want to switch to studying, you’ll need to leave Australia, lodge your Student visa application from your home country, and re-enter once it’s granted. Bridging visas aren’t available for offshore applicants waiting on a decision, so plan your travel and accommodation around that gap.
7. Work Rights: What You Can and Can’t Do
Work rights for overseas students haven’t tightened further recently, but the current settings are worth knowing precisely.
- During term time: up to 48 hours per fortnight (roughly 3 days a week), reinstated at this increased level from 1 July 2023, up from the pre-pandemic 40-hour cap
- During semester breaks: unlimited hours
- Masters by research and PhD students: no work hour limit at any point in their course
A fortnight is counted as a 14-day cycle starting on a Monday. You still need to maintain satisfactory course attendance and academic progress regardless of how many hours you work, and breaching either can put your visa at risk even if you’ve stayed within your work hour limit.
8. The Temporary Graduate Visa Also Changed
Many overseas students plan their entire study pathway around the subclass 485 visa, so it’s worth knowing this has been restructured too, effective 1 July 2024.
New Age Limit
The maximum eligible age dropped from 50 to 35 for most applicants. Two groups are exempt and remain eligible up to age 50: Masters (research) and PhD graduates, and Hong Kong or BNO passport holders.
Stream Renaming and Stay Periods
The Graduate Work stream is now the Post-Vocational Education Work stream, and the Post-Study Work stream is now the Post-Higher Education Work stream. Stay periods now generally run up to 2 years for a bachelor’s degree, up to 2 years for a coursework master’s, and up to 3 years for a research master’s or PhD, with longer periods available to Hong Kong/BNO passport holders and Indian nationals under the AI-ECTA agreement.
9. Eligibility Checklist
Before you apply, make sure you can genuinely tick off each of these:
- A valid Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE) from a CRICOS-registered provider
- GS requirement answers that are specific, honest, and consistent with your other documents
- Financial evidence covering at least AUD 29,710 for the year, plus tuition and travel
- An English test result meeting the current threshold for your course type
- Valid Overseas Student Health Cover for your entire intended stay
- No unresolved visa condition breaches from a previous stay in Australia
- If applying onshore isn’t an option for your current visa type, confirmation you’re applying from offshore
10. How Long Does the Process Take?
Under MD115, your realistic timeline depends heavily on your provider’s allocation status, not just your paperwork.
A complete application to a Priority 1 provider (schools, TAFE, standalone ELICOS, scholarship-sponsored study) can be decided in 1 to 4 weeks. A Priority 2 application, where your provider has used most of its allocation, typically takes 5 to 8 weeks. A Priority 3 application, where the provider has exceeded its allocation by more than 15%, can take 9 to 12 weeks or longer.
Add time before lodgement for English testing, gathering financial evidence, and receiving your CoE from the provider. A realistic total runway from starting your application to visa grant is often 2 to 4 months, longer if your provider sits in a lower priority band or your documentation needs revisions.
11. FAQs
What is the Genuine Student requirement?
It’s the current assessment used for all Student visa applications since 23 March 2024, replacing the old Genuine Temporary Entrant test. It asks targeted questions about your study intentions, ties to home, and career goals, rather than requiring you to prove you’ll leave Australia after your course.
How much money do I need to show for a student visa in 2026?
At least AUD 29,710 for a single applicant’s annual living costs, plus tuition fees and return airfare. Add AUD 10,394 for a partner and AUD 4,449 per dependent child if they’re included in your application.
What is the current student visa application fee?
AUD 2,500 as of 1 July 2026, up from AUD 2,000 the year before and AUD 710 before July 2024. Concessional rates still apply for eligible Pacific Island, Timor-Leste, and some ELICOS and non-award applicants.
Can I switch from a visitor visa to a student visa while I’m in Australia?
No, not since 1 July 2024. Visitor visa and Temporary Graduate visa holders must apply for a Student visa from outside Australia.
How many hours can international students work in Australia?
Up to 48 hours per fortnight during term time, and unlimited hours during semester breaks. Masters by research and PhD students have no work hour limit at all.
What is Ministerial Direction 115?
The current framework, effective 14 November 2025, for processing offshore Student visa applications. It sorts applications into three priority tiers based on how well your chosen provider is managing its enrolment numbers against its 2026 allocation.
Has the Temporary Graduate visa age limit changed?
Yes. It dropped from 50 to 35 for most applicants from 1 July 2024. Masters (research) and PhD graduates, along with Hong Kong and BNO passport holders, remain eligible up to age 50.
Getting the Genuine Student answers, financial evidence, and provider choice right the first time avoids most of the delays students run into under these new rules. A registered migration agent can review your application before you lodge it, which is worth considering given how much weight case officers now place on GS consistency.
