As at 2 October 2026, only some of Australia’s new immigration rules are law. The student visa changes started on 2 October, new skilled processing directions on 19 September, and higher visa fees on 1 July. The working holiday ballot, the visitor visa “no further stay” condition and a new points test are announced only.
Much of the coverage since the Minister for Home Affairs, Tony Burke, spoke at the National Press Club on 17 September 2026 blurs that line. If you are deciding whether to lodge, travel, enrol or sponsor, the line is the whole point. Every item below carries its status as at 2 October 2026 and a link to the primary source, and we update this page when an announcement becomes law.
Status as at 2 October 2026: the student visa rules that started on 2 October, the skilled and family processing directions, and the 1 July visa fee rises are in force. The working holiday ballot, no further stay on visitor visas, the new points test, graduate visa family limits, the protection reforms and overstayer detention are announced only, with no start date. No bill for the reforms that need legislation has been introduced.
New immigration rules at a glance
| Change | Who it affects | Status | Start date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Most temporary visa holders must apply for a Student visa from outside Australia | 17 classes of visa holder, including 417, 462, 482, 485 and 600 holders, and Student visa holders seeking another Student visa | In force | 2 October 2026 |
| Student visa family members restricted, no subsequent entrants | New Student visa applicants with a partner or children | In force | 2 October 2026 |
| Onshore course progression must go up the AQF (qualification) scale, and higher education must stay in higher education | Student visa holders planning a further course | In force | 2 October 2026 |
| Provider transfers restricted for the first 12 months of the principal course | International students outside school | In force | 2 October 2026 to 30 June 2027 |
| New Student visa transfer stream | Students changing provider onshore | Announced only | 1 July 2027 (announced) |
| Family member restrictions extended to graduate (485) visas | Future Subclass 485 applicants | Announced only | No start date |
| Graduate Diploma of Management (Learning) specified for automatic suspension and cancellation | VET providers and prospective students | In force | 5 September 2026 |
| Working holiday ballot: 45,000 second year, 5,000 third year places | 417 and 462 visa holders | Announced only | No start date |
| Working holiday processing being normalised to about three months, not for UK applicants | Most working holiday applicants | Administrative, under way | No fixed date |
| 417 age limit raised to 35 for Cyprus, Finland, Germany and Korea | Passport holders of those countries | In force | 1 July 2026 |
| Skilled processing order under Directions 121 and 122 | Skilled visa applicants, including files already lodged | In force | 19 September 2026 |
| Direction 119, skilled processing order favouring onshore applicants | Skilled visa applicants | Revoked | Applied 25 July to 18 September 2026 |
| New points test with a housing trades uplift | 189, 190 and 491 applicants | Announced only | No start date |
| Skilled income thresholds indexed (CSIT and TSMIT AUD79,423) | Employer sponsors and nominees | In force | 1 July 2026 |
| Department may publish approved work sponsor details | Employer sponsors | Law made, not yet in force | By Proclamation, or 8 October 2026 at the latest |
| 2026-27 Permanent Migration Program of 185,000, onshore priority | Permanent visa applicants | In effect for the program year | 1 July 2026 |
| Family visa processing, onshore first (Direction 117) | Partner, child, parent and other family applicants | In force | 25 July 2026 |
| No Further Stay condition on all visitor visas | Future visitor visa holders | Announced only | No start date |
| Direction 123 to replace Direction 110 (character) | People facing refusal or cancellation on character grounds | Announced only | “Late October” (Assistant Minister) |
| Reform of non-genuine protection claims | Protection visa applicants | Announced only, needs legislation | No bill |
| Humanitarian Program kept at 20,000 places | Refugee and humanitarian entrants | Announced funding commitment | Future Budgets |
| Overstayer detention: 100 extra officers, 250 beds | People without a valid visa | Announced only | No start date |
| Migration agents Code of Conduct change | Registered migration agents and their clients | Proposed | No start date |
| Team targeting unregistered “fake agents” | Unregistered operators | Administrative, stood up | Announced 2 October 2026 |
| Visa application charges up 25% for most visas | Most visa applicants | In force | 1 July 2026 |
| Expression of interest system for demand-driven visas | Not yet specified | Not proceeding without legislation | None |
The Department of Home Affairs’ own summary of the package says the changes “have begun to be implemented and will be progressively rolled out over the next 12 months” (Australian Government migration policy changes, last updated 17 September 2026).
What was announced on 17 September 2026
The Minister’s media release framed the package around “who arrives, who stays and who leaves”. It said the policies “are designed to deliver the Net Overseas Migration forecasts in the Budget of 245,000 in this financial year and 225,000 in 2027/28”.
Some measures took effect within days or weeks. Others need a regulation, an instrument or an Act of Parliament that does not yet exist. That split is why the status column matters more than the headline.
Students
Students carry the largest share of changes that are actually law. Our full guide to the October 2026 student visa changes works through each one with examples.
Onshore Student visa applications. In force from 2 October 2026. People in any of 17 specified classes of visa holder can no longer lodge a Student visa (Subclass 500) or Student Guardian visa (Subclass 590) application in Australia. The list in LIN 26/102 on the Federal Register of Legislation includes the Subclass 400, 407, 408, 417, 457, 462, 482 (Skills in Demand and Temporary Skill Shortage), 485, 600, 601, 602, 651, 771, 988 and certain 403 and 995 holders. Student visa holders seeking another Student visa are also caught unless an exemption applies. This goes further than the rules described in our earlier article on onshore visa switching.
Family members. In force from 2 October 2026. The Department’s fact sheet says applicants “can no longer include family members (partner and/or dependent children) in their Student visa application, unless an exemption applies”, and current holders “can no longer add family members (subsequent entrants) after their Student visa has been granted. There are no exemptions to this rule.” The exemptions cover PhD students, DFAT or Defence sponsored students, foreign government scholarship holders, and eligible students from Pacific and ASEAN countries. We explain who still qualifies in our guide to student visa family members.
Course progression. In force from 2 October 2026. One of the exemptions to the onshore bar lets a Student visa holder who has completed their main course apply onshore to progress to a course at a higher Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) level. Moving sideways or down means applying from outside Australia, unless another exemption applies. The same fact sheet adds: “If you completed a higher education course, your next course must also be a higher education course delivered by a higher education provider.” Applications lodged before 2 October 2026 are assessed under the old rules.
Provider transfers. In force from 2 October 2026 to 30 June 2027. Under the amended National Code, a provider must not knowingly enrol a transferring student unless “the student has completed at least twelve months of their principal course with the releasing provider”. It was six months. School students stay at six, and the Code keeps limited exceptions, such as where the releasing provider or course has ceased to be registered.
Student visa transfer stream. Announced only, for 1 July 2027. Assistant Minister Julian Hill’s 2 October release says that “From 1 July 2027, students applying for a new Student visa in the transfer stream will have to have received their new visa before they can commence study at a new provider”. No regulation creating the stream has been made.
Graduate (485) visa family members. Announced only, no start date. The same release says: “Similar restrictions will apply to Temporary Graduate visas. The changes will not separate families already in Australia where family members hold Student or Temporary Graduate visas as secondary applicants.” No amending regulation for the Subclass 485 has been made. Our 485 visa changes guide tracks it.
Graduate Diploma of Management (Learning). In force from 5 September 2026. An ESOS instrument specified this VET course, BSB80120, for automatic suspension and cancellation. Its explanatory statement cites “high non-commencement rates, comparatively low completion rates, significant onshore transfer activity” among the reasons.
Student numbers for 2027. A planning setting, not a law. Study Australia says “In 2027, the NPL will remain at 295,000, the same as in 2026.” Its 15 July 2026 notice adds that the National Planning Level “is not a cap”.
Refusal rates. Not a rule change. Asked about student visas at the Press Club, the Minister said in the Q&A that “there are some applications from particular countries where the refusal rates start to go up” because “we’ve had to look more carefully at how we check people’s assets to make sure that they can actually afford the course.” We analyse the Department’s own data in our article on student visa refusal rates.
Working holiday makers
Almost everything here is still announcement or administration.
Second and third year ballot. Announced only, no start date. In his Press Club speech, the Minister said the 88 days and six months of regional work “won’t change. But what you will be qualifying for is a ballot.” He said: “The ballot for year two will be limited to 45,000” and year three would be “a ballot system of 5,000”. No instrument has been made, and there is no detail yet on how the ballot will run. Our guide to the second and third year working holiday ballot covers what is known.
Processing times. Administrative, under way. The Department’s working holiday news page says “we are normalising processing timeframes for most WHM visa applications. The average processing time is expected to be around three months.” The Minister said UK applications will stay on the slower track for now.
First Work and Holiday (462) caps. Administrative. As at 2 October 2026, the country caps page shows first applications paused for Brazil, Mongolia and Papua New Guinea. It notes that lodgements “may also be paused to support the Government’s migration settings while ensuring the program operates sustainably.” The working holiday news page adds that ballot registrations for Indonesian passport holders are “expected to open later in 2026”.
417 age limit. In force from 1 July 2026. The explanatory statement to LIN 26/048 says it “increases the maximum age limit from 30 to 35 years” for Working Holiday (Subclass 417) applicants holding passports from Cyprus, Finland, Germany or the Republic of Korea.
Skilled and employer sponsored visas
Processing order. In force from 19 September 2026. The Department’s skilled processing priorities page says Ministerial Direction 121 (temporary skilled, meaning the 482) and Direction 122 (provisional and permanent skilled) “came into effect on 19 September 2026” and “have replaced all processing priorities under Ministerial Direction 119.” Both now put construction, healthcare, teaching, agriculture, aquaculture, fishing, resources, law enforcement and defence occupations first, onshore or offshore. Direction 119, signed on 24 July 2026 and in force from the following day until 18 September 2026, had given priority to applicants in Australia, with only law enforcement and defence occupations prioritised offshore. We cover the temporary side in 482 visa processing times and the points-tested side in 190 and 491 processing times.
New points test. Announced only, no start date. At the Press Club the Minister said “we have redone the points test in consultation with Treasury”, with housing trades to receive “the same number of points as though it were a university qualification”. On 2 October, Julian Hill told the Migration Institute of Australia in a keynote speech that “The Government is also reforming the points test”. There is no new points table and no amending regulation. See our article on Australia’s new points test.
Income thresholds. In force from 1 July 2026. The explanatory statement to the 2026 Measures No. 1 Regulations says “from 1 July 2026, a revised TSMIT of $79,423 comes into effect”, aligned with “the indexed CSIT figure of $79,423”.
Publishing sponsor details. Law made, not yet in force. The Migration Amendment (Combatting Migrant Exploitation) Act 2026 inserts section 140GD, under which “The Secretary may publish on the Department’s website information (including personal information)” about approved work sponsors, as prescribed by regulations. The Act received Royal Assent on 8 April 2026 and commences on a day fixed by Proclamation or, failing that, “on the day after the end of” six months, which is 8 October 2026.
2026-27 Permanent Migration Program. In effect for the program year from 1 July 2026. The planning levels page sets 185,000 places and says the government “will prioritise applications from onshore migrants, allocating 129,590 places to migrants already living in Australia”.
Family and partner visas
Processing order. In force from 25 July 2026. The family visa processing priorities page says Ministerial Direction 117 “replaced Ministerial Direction 102 on 25 July 2026” and “gives highest priority to Family visa applications made while the primary applicant was in Australia, for a visa that can be granted while the applicant is in Australia.” Offshore applicants, including offshore partner visa applicants, now sit in the lower priority group. Partner and child applications still come before parent and other family visas within each group. Our guide to Direction 117 and family visa processing explains what it means for a wait already under way.
The announced visitor visa change below is relevant to couples too. The Minister described a “double standard” where a partner who arrives on a visitor visa and applies onshore stays on a bridging visa, and said the change “will give some consistency as to what happens with family migration”. How it would apply to onshore partner applications will depend on wording that has not yet been made.
Visitors
No Further Stay condition on all visitor visas. Announced only, no start date. In his speech, the Minister said: “We’ll be attaching to visitor visas a no further stay provision to visitor visas. Now obviously you can’t do a no further stay with respect to a protection application”. He added: “It will have no impact on anybody who is already here because this is about the issuing of future visas and the rules for future visas.”
No amending regulation has been made. The speech does not say which condition will be used, whether waivers will be available, or when it starts. Our article on condition 8503 and how waivers work explains how an existing no further stay condition operates today.
Protection, humanitarian and character
Direction 123 on character decisions. Announced only. Julian Hill said in his 2 October keynote that “a new Ministerial Direction 123, focused on character-related visa decisions, is due to come into effect in late October replacing MD110.” As at 2 October 2026, the Department’s character requirements page still points to Direction 110 and does not include Direction 123.
Non-genuine protection claims. Announced only, needs legislation. The Minister said in his speech: “Once again, this is one that I can only deal with legislation, and therefore that part of the story I’m not able to complete today.” No bill has been introduced.
Humanitarian Program. Announced funding commitment. Assistant Minister Matt Thistlethwaite said on ABC 7.30 on 27 August 2026: “We’ve confirmed today that the humanitarian intake will remain at 20,000.”
Compliance and migration agents
Overstayers. Announced only, no start date. The Minister described a return to pre-2015 practice, with “an additional 100 compliance officers” and “an additional 250 beds”, and said the government would “go back simply to what we did before 2015. No more and no less.” (speech)
Migration agents Code of Conduct. Proposed. Julian Hill said in his keynote that “Proposed changes to the Code will establish a clearer standard whereby a RMA would be prohibited from assisting with an application they know, or reasonably ought to know, does not have a reasonable factual or legal basis.” No amended Code has been made.
Unregistered “fake agents”. Administrative, stood up. In the same speech: “we have now stood up a dedicated team to investigate and disrupt these rogue operators.”
Visa fees
Visa application charges. In force from 1 July 2026. The 2026 Measures No. 1 Regulations commenced on 1 July 2026 and, according to their explanatory statement, brought “a system-wide increase to the first instalment of the VAC by 25 per cent from 1 July 2026 for most visas”. For Student and Student Guardian visas, the base charge for most primary applicants rose “from $2,000 to $2,500”. Pacific and Timor-Leste passport holders pay AUD745, and Student visa applicants with an ASEAN passport or enrolling in an ELICOS or non-award course pay AUD2,050. The base charge for most second and third working holiday visas is now AUD1,000, up AUD330 for the 417 and AUD350 for the 462 on the amounts in force before 1 July, and the Resident Return (155 and 157), Bridging B (020) and Subclass 461 charges rose by about 200% for most applicants.
Earlier in the year, the Temporary Graduate (485) charge doubled. Budget Paper No. 2 records that “The Government increased the visa application charge for temporary graduate visa applicants by 100 per cent, excluding eligible Pacific Island and Timor-Leste applicants, with effect from 1 March 2026.” Current amounts are in our guide to visa fees in Australia.
What needs legislation, and where Parliament is up to
The Minister was direct about the limits. In the speech he said the reforms “are not as comprehensive as I would like them to be” and that, “particularly with respect to the problem of the demand-driven system that we have, you can’t do that without legislation.” On an expression of interest system for demand-driven visas, he said: “I can only do that part of it if we have legislation, and at this point we don’t.” On protection claims, as quoted above, “I can only deal with legislation”.
Every legal change in force since 1 July 2026 was made by regulation, legislative instrument or ministerial direction under existing Acts. The rest are administrative. The Parliament’s bills register shows no bill introduced between 1 July and 2 October 2026 for the reforms that need legislation. A government bill introduced on 1 July 2026, the Administrative and Judicial Review Legislation Amendment Bill 2026, does amend the Migration Act, but only on Administrative Review Tribunal procedure. The only bill with “Migration” in its title introduced in that period is a private senator’s bill, the Migration Amendment (Overseas Organ Transplant Disclosure) Bill 2026, introduced on 20 August 2026 and still before the Senate.
What to watch next
- By 8 October 2026: the sponsor publishing power in section 140GD commences, if not proclaimed earlier.
- Late October 2026: Direction 123 on character, per the Assistant Minister.
- By 31 October 2026: the next Subclass 189 invitation round is expected, according to the Department’s SkillSelect notice.
- 1 July 2027: the announced Student visa transfer stream, and the end of the interim 12-month transfer rule.
- No date yet: the working holiday ballot, no further stay on visitor visas, the new points test, 485 family limits, protection reforms and overstayer detention.
We last checked every item on this page on 2 October 2026.
Frequently asked questions
What are the new immigration rules for Australia in 2026?
The rules in force since 1 July 2026 include higher visa charges, indexed skilled income thresholds, onshore-first family processing (from 25 July), a new skilled processing order (from 19 September) and the student visa changes (from 2 October). The working holiday ballot, no further stay on visitor visas, a new points test and 485 family limits were announced on 17 September 2026 but are not law.
Are the new student visa rules already in force?
Yes. The onshore application bar, the family member restrictions, the progression rule and the 12-month transfer rule all started on 2 October 2026. Student visa applications lodged before that date are assessed under the rules in place when they were lodged. The transfer stream is announced for 1 July 2027 only.
Do the changes affect people already in Australia?
It depends on the change. The government says the student and graduate changes “will not separate families already in Australia” where family members hold Student or Temporary Graduate visas as secondary applicants. The Minister said the visitor visa change would have “no impact on anybody who is already here”. The skilled and family processing directions, on the other hand, apply to applications already lodged and not yet decided.
When does the working holiday visa ballot start?
There is no start date. The 45,000 and 5,000 figures come from the Minister’s speech on 17 September 2026, and no instrument has been made as at 2 October 2026.
Has the points test changed yet?
No. A new points test with a housing trades uplift was announced on 17 September 2026, but there is no new points table, no start date and no amending regulation. Expressions of interest are still scored under the current test.
Do the 17 September reforms need to pass Parliament?
Some do. The Minister said the expression of interest system and the protection claims reform need legislation, and no bill for either has been introduced as at 2 October 2026. The Minister has not said the working holiday ballot or the visitor visa condition need legislation, but neither has been made in any regulation or instrument as at 2 October 2026.
A realistic next step
If one of these changes lands on your plans, the useful question is whether it is law today or still only an announcement, because the answer changes what you can safely do now. Where something is in force, timing and exemptions decide your options. Where it is only announced, the risk is acting on rules that may look different when they arrive. Book a consultation with our migration lawyers to work out where you stand.
About the author: Tina Nematian is the Principal Lawyer at One Planet Migration Law. She is an Australian Legal Practitioner and a Registered Migration Agent (MARN), and has guided clients through partner, skilled, employer-sponsored, student, and humanitarian visa applications across Australia.
This article is general information only and does not constitute legal or migration advice. Visa rules change frequently and outcomes depend on individual circumstances. Speak with a registered migration lawyer or agent before making any application. Figures were current as of October 2026; always check immi.homeaffairs.gov.au before lodging.
