Media coverage:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09-18/labor-migration-policy-delivered/107166054

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09-18/business-groups-and-miners-welcome-labors-migration-policies/107163600

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09-18/visa-overstayers-enforcement-not-like-ice/107164600

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09-17/migration-address-tony-burke-cardinal-sin/107163070

https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/australia-migration-changes-explained/5jkppvwqe

https://minister.homeaffairs.gov.au/TonyBurke/Pages/migration-reform-end-rorts-bring-skills-australia-needs-strong-economy.aspx

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm986j81ky55o

Speech: https://minister.homeaffairs.gov.au/TonyBurke/Pages/speech-national-press-club-17092026.aspx

Q&A: https://minister.homeaffairs.gov.au/TonyBurke/Pages/qa-national-press-club.aspx

Skilled visa priority processing commencing on 19 September 2026:

Ministerial Direction 121 - subclass 482: https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/Visa-subsite/files/md-121.pdf

Ministerial Direction 122 - subclass 186, 187, 189, 190, 191, 489, 491, 494, 887, 888: https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/Visa-subsite/files/md-122.pdf

Overview of Proposed Migration Reforms

• Net Overseas Migration (NOM): ABS figures indicate NOM dropped to 292,100 for the year ending March 2026. The government aims for a target of 245,000 in 2026–27, further decreasing to 225,000 annually by 2027–28.
• Key Issues Highlighted: The Minister pointed to the inherently demand-driven nature of the migration program, "visa-hopping" (frequently switching visas or utilizing appeals to extend stays), and housing supply pressures as major challenges.

Impact by Visa Category

The below is our understanding of the announced policy changes. We have to wait for Regulatory changes to confirm these changes.

1. Student & Graduate Visas

• Secondary Applicants: Most international students and graduates will no longer be permitted to include secondary visa applicants. However, current onshore visa holders with dependents remain unaffected. Exemptions also apply to postgraduate research students (PhDs) and students originating from Pacific and ASEAN nations.
• Course Changes: Legitimate students can still apply for new visas to transition upward in qualifications (e.g., Bachelor to Masters). Moving down to lower-tier providers will necessitate a new visa application under existing policy and condition 8202.

2. Working Holiday Maker (Subclass 417/462) Visas

• Ballot System: A ballot is being introduced for second- and third-year visa applications while maintaining mandatory regional work rules (88 days for year two, six months for year three).
• Year Two caps will be restricted to 45,000 places.
• Year Three caps will drop significantly to 5,000 places.
• Processing Pace: Standard processing resumes for applicants who have already completed regional work requirements. Conversely, UK applicants—who are exempt from regional work under the Free Trade Agreement—will face slower processing to manage rapid onshore growth (which surged from 17,000 pre-COVID to 80,000 currently).

3. Visitor Visas

• "No Further Stay" Condition (8503): Future visitor visas will automatically include a No Further Stay condition, preventing onshore applications for most alternative visas (with protection visas as the exception). Current visitor visa holders and existing onshore visitors are unaffected.
• This policy aims to ensure fair access for visitors globally and reduce onshore subclass shifts (such as onshore partner visa lodgments).

4. Skilled Visas

• Points Test: A revised points system will heavily favor housing and construction trade qualifications, granting high-demand trades points equivalent to university degrees.
• Processing Priorities (Ministerial Direction 119): Priority-processing lists will expand to explicitly include agriculture, resources, fisheries, construction, and teaching alongside existing healthcare sectors.

5. Protection 

• Protection Claims: Addressing disingenuous claims will necessitate future legislation. The Minister confirmed that revoking work rights for rejected protection visa applicants has never been discussed or planned.

6. Family Visas

• Family Visas: Long processing backlogs for partner visas were acknowledged, but no immediate fixes were introduced.

Compliance, Enforcement, and Integrity Measures

• Migration Agents: The government plans to continue clamping down on unethical ("rogue") migration agents who knowingly support meritless applications.
• Ministerial Direction 110: Updated character and conduct rules will increase protections for victims of child crime and family violence while reflecting modern standards against hatred.
• Visa Overstayers: Authorities will target the estimated 77,000 visa overstayers by reinstating pre-2015 protocols involving detention followed by swift voluntary departures. This will be supported by 100 new compliance officers and 250 additional detention beds (potentially leveraging a former Melbourne quarantine site) to avoid housing non-criminal overstayers alongside criminal detainees.

This page will be updated as new information/legislation will be coming.

Last updated on 19/09/2026.

Relevant legislation:

Migration Amendment (Student Visa Reform) Regulations 2026 https://www.legislation.gov.au/F2026L01347/latest/text

Migration (LIN 20/158: Class of Persons for Student (Temporary) (Class TU) Visa Applications) Amendment Instrument 2026 https://www.legislation.gov.au/F2026L01349/asmade/text

Migration (Student Visa Applications to Be Made from outside Australia) Instrument 2026 https://www.legislation.gov.au/F2026L01348/latest/text

National Code of Practice for Providers of Education and Training to Overseas Students Amendment (Overseas Student Transfers) Instrument 2026 https://www.legislation.gov.au/F2026L01351/latest/text

Immi web: https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-listing/changes-to-student-visa-application-rules-500-590

Fact sheets:

2026-10-02-changes-to-student-visa-applications-factsheet

2026-10-02-student-500-infographic

Applying for a Student visa or Student Guardian visa while in Australia

​​​​​​​​​​Under the new rules, most temporary visa holders need to be outside Australia when they lodge a Student or Student Guardian visa application.

Specified temporary visa holders also need to be outside Australia when the visa is applied for (no exemptions):

Lodgi​ng in Australia if you currently hold a Student visa

If are a Student visa holder, you may be able to apply for another Student visa in Australia if you:

• need up to 12 more months after your original course end date to complete your studies. You must be continuing to study with the same education provider. If you have a package of courses, the course you need more time to complete must be your main course.
• are sponsored by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) or Defence
• are applying to study a PhD Degree
• are applying to do primary or secondary school studies
• have completed your main course that has an Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) level and are progressing to a course at a higher AQF level*.
• have completed your school studies and are progressing to a course that does not have an AQF level
• have completed a course that does not have an AQF level and you are progressing to a course that does have an AQF level
• cannot continue your course because your education provider has defaulted.​

​​*Note: If you completed a higher education course, your next course must also be a higher education course delivered by a higher education provider.

Including or adding family members

Most of student visa applicants are no longer able to include family members (partner and/or dependent children) in their Student visa application unless an exemption applies.

Current Student visa holders are no longer able to add family members after their Student visa has been granted. There are no exemptions to this rule.

You may be able to include family members in your application if you meet limited exemption criteria. This includes: 

• PhD students
• Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) or Defence-sponsored students
• foreign government scholarship recipients
• eligible students from Pacific countries and ASEAN member countries.

If you already have family members included on your current Student visa, and are applying in Australia, you may be able to include them in your next Student visa application. 

You may also be able to include family members who were already included in your current Student visa if you apply in Australia or outside Australia and​ you:

• need up to 12 more months to complete the main course covered by your current Student visa, or
• need to lodge a further Student visa application because your education provider defaulted.

Course Changes

Before 1 July 2027, Registered providers are generally prohibited from enrolling overseas students seeking to transfer from another registered provider (the releasing provider) unless the student has completed at least 12 months of their principal course with the releasing provider.

From 1 July 2027, the restriction period reverts to the restriction period that was previously in the National Code before the amendments were made to the National Code by the Amendment Instrument (which required that the student complete at least 6 months of their principal course with the releasing provider).

​

Last Updated 02/10/2026. OZ HOME MIGRATION does not guarantee all information is correct and professional advice should be sought in relation to the above information.