Australia’s student visa refusal rate was 21.8 per cent in the 2025-26 financial year, according to the Department of Home Affairs’ own data. In other words, the Department refused more than one in five Student visa decisions. That is the highest yearly rate in a series that goes back to 2005-06. The first two months of 2026-27 were higher again, at 30.8 per cent.
If you are about to lodge, or you have just been refused, numbers like that can feel personal. They are not. A refusal rate is an average across hundreds of thousands of decisions, and it cannot tell you how your own application will be decided. What it does show is where refusals are concentrated, and that is useful context before you lodge or respond to a refusal.
Where these figures come from
Every grant and refusal figure in this article comes from one source: the Department of Home Affairs’ BP0015 Student visa grant rates report on data.gov.au, in the release locked at 31 August 2026. It covers the Subclass 500 Student visa (the 500) and the older subclasses 570 to 576.
The Department defines the grant rate as “the number of visas granted divided by the sum of visas granted and refused”. We use the refusal rate, which is 100 per cent minus that grant rate. Only grants and refusals count, so the figures are about decisions, not lodgements.
We downloaded the workbook and recalculated each figure from its underlying records. Our yearly totals match the grant rates in the Department’s own pivot table.
Two cautions. The Department says the figures “should always be considered provisional”, because its data can change between releases. And the 2026-27 figures cover July and August 2026 only.
Monthly rates also swing. In 2025-26 the monthly refusal rate ran from 15.9 per cent in December 2025 to 29.4 per cent in March 2026, so a headline built on one month, one sector or one group of applicants can look very different from the yearly figure.
Student visa refusal rates since 2015-16
These figures cover all applicants: primary applicants (the students themselves) and secondary applicants (family members). Source: Department of Home Affairs, BP0015 Student visa grant rates, data to 31 August 2026.
| Financial year | Decisions | Granted | Refused | Grant rate | Refusal rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-16 | 342,770 | 310,845 | 31,925 | 90.7% | 9.3% |
| 2016-17 | 374,787 | 343,035 | 31,752 | 91.5% | 8.5% |
| 2017-18 | 418,021 | 378,292 | 39,729 | 90.5% | 9.5% |
| 2018-19 | 451,534 | 405,742 | 45,792 | 89.9% | 10.1% |
| 2019-20 | 372,164 | 340,152 | 32,012 | 91.4% | 8.6% |
| 2020-21 | 246,474 | 232,750 | 13,724 | 94.4% | 5.6% |
| 2021-22 | 288,367 | 263,737 | 24,630 | 91.5% | 8.5% |
| 2022-23 | 671,305 | 577,295 | 94,010 | 86.0% | 14.0% |
| 2023-24 | 472,228 | 376,731 | 95,497 | 79.8% | 20.2% |
| 2024-25 | 453,476 | 371,564 | 81,912 | 81.9% | 18.1% |
| 2025-26 | 431,842 | 337,527 | 94,315 | 78.2% | 21.8% |
| 2026-27 (to 31 August 2026) | 51,940 | 35,964 | 15,976 | 69.2% | 30.8% |
From 2015-16 to 2019-20 the refusal rate sat between 8.5 and 10.1 per cent. It dropped to 5.6 per cent in 2020-21, a year with far fewer decisions, returned to 8.5 per cent in 2021-22, then climbed from 2022-23. The 94,315 refusals in 2025-26 were almost as many as in 2023-24, even though there were about 40,000 fewer decisions.
The students themselves show the same pattern. Primary applicants were refused at 21.2 per cent in 2025-26 and 28.8 per cent in July and August 2026.
Family members have fared worse. Secondary applicants had a 25.6 per cent refusal rate in 2025-26, and 44.4 per cent in the first two months of 2026-27.
VET versus higher education
The gap between education sectors is the starkest pattern in the data. The table shows refusal rates for primary applicants, by the sector the Department records for each application. Source: Department of Home Affairs, BP0015 Student visa grant rates.
| Sector (primary applicants) | 2015-16 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | 2025-26 | 2026-27 (to 31 Aug) | Decisions 2025-26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Higher Education | 8.0% | 15.8% | 8.1% | 16.0% | 25.8% | 232,930 |
| Vocational Education and Training (VET) | 15.5% | 38.6% | 41.9% | 47.8% | 49.2% | 73,085 |
| Independent ELICOS | 6.8% | 19.0% | 21.2% | 21.2% | 30.5% | 23,070 |
| Postgraduate Research | 1.9% | 2.2% | 1.7% | 4.4% | 5.3% | 11,228 |
| Schools | 8.6% | 9.4% | 13.7% | 8.6% | 8.6% | 8,906 |
ELICOS means English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students.
Nearly half of VET primary applicants were refused in 2025-26, at 47.8 per cent, against 16.0 per cent in higher education. VET refusals have been above 38 per cent in each of the last three full years.
Higher education has been less steady. It went from 15.8 per cent in 2023-24 down to 8.1 per cent in 2024-25, back up to 16.0 per cent in 2025-26, and has been 25.8 per cent so far in 2026-27. Postgraduate research applicants were refused at 4.4 per cent in 2025-26.
Refusal rates by country of citizenship
These are the ten citizenship countries with the most decisions in 2025-26, all applicants. Source: Department of Home Affairs, BP0015 Student visa grant rates.
| Citizenship | Decisions 2025-26 | Refusal rate 2024-25 | Refusal rate 2025-26 | Refusal rate 2026-27 (to 31 Aug) | Decisions 2026-27 (to 31 Aug) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| China (excl. SARs) | 78,191 | 7.6% | 7.4% | 8.2% | 11,728 |
| India | 67,624 | 31.7% | 36.0% | 48.6% | 7,028 |
| Nepal | 45,890 | 19.0% | 34.1% | 70.7% | 5,027 |
| Bangladesh | 22,129 | 6.7% | 26.9% | 63.5% | 1,725 |
| Philippines | 14,520 | 35.9% | 33.4% | 56.6% | 1,757 |
| Vietnam | 14,201 | 21.1% | 13.5% | 12.0% | 1,671 |
| Indonesia | 13,005 | 12.3% | 17.4% | 17.8% | 2,343 |
| Bhutan | 12,706 | 15.2% | 20.0% | 47.3% | 937 |
| Brazil | 12,612 | 17.2% | 19.6% | 20.7% | 1,563 |
| Pakistan | 11,848 | 46.5% | 37.2% | 42.7% | 1,534 |
China, the largest source country, had a 7.4 per cent refusal rate in 2025-26. India (36.0 per cent) and Nepal (34.1 per cent) were roughly four and a half to five times that. Nepal’s rate rose by more than three-quarters in a year, and Bangladesh’s roughly quadrupled, from 6.7 to 26.9 per cent.
Looking only at students who applied from outside Australia, the 2025-26 refusal rate was 47.6 per cent for Nepal, 38.1 per cent for India and 4.8 per cent for China.
Treat the 2026-27 column with care, because it covers two months and, for several countries, fewer than 2,000 decisions. Even so, the early figures for Nepal, Bangladesh and the Philippines are far above their 2025-26 rates.
A country average is not a verdict on any one applicant. In 2025-26 the Department still granted more than 43,000 Student visas to Indian citizens and more than 30,000 to Nepalese citizens.
What the government has said about the rise
At the National Press Club on 17 September 2026, the Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Tony Burke, was asked about international student numbers. His answer included this:
there are some applications from particular countries where the refusal rates start to go up, has started to go up. Effectively, what’s happening there with student visas is we’ve had to look more carefully at how we check people’s assets to make sure that they can actually afford the course. Because what was happening was there were some people coming, where, in fact, the only way they were going to be able to afford the course was if they also got a migration outcome and spent 10 years working in Australia.
In the same answer he said “our planning levels are unchanged”, and described the change as one that “some people have represented as us dealing with net overseas migration, which isn’t”.
We are not going to add reasons the government has not given. The Minister’s comments go to financial capacity, which sits alongside the Genuine Student requirement in every Student visa application. Here is what each actually requires, in the Department’s words.
The Genuine Student requirement
The Genuine Student (GS) requirement applies to Student visa applications lodged on or after 23 March 2024. According to the Department’s Genuine Student page, all applicants must:
be a genuine applicant for entry and stay as a student
be able to demonstrate an understanding that studying in Australia is the primary reason for applying for a student visa.
It is not a test of whether you might one day want to stay. The same page says “Future intentions of this kind do not count against an applicant under GS”, referring to students who may later apply for permanent residence.
The Department weighs your whole situation, including ties to your home country, economic circumstances, why this course with this provider, and your immigration history, including previous refusals. The online form allows 150 words per answer, and the line that matters most is this one: “We give more weight to statements supported by evidence in assessing the GS requirement.”
Financial capacity, where checks have tightened
Financial capacity is the requirement to show you have enough money for your course, your living costs and travel. As at 2 October 2026, the Department’s Student visa page sets the minimum 12-month living cost for a student at AUD29,710, before course fees and travel.
Three things on that page are worth reading slowly:
- If the document checklist asks for evidence and you do not attach it, “we may refuse your application without asking you for more information”.
- Even where the checklist does not ask for it, “We may however still ask for this evidence while processing your application.”
- Having the money is not enough. “If we ask you to give evidence of financial capacity, you must also prove you have access to it.” The Department asks how deposits were accumulated, and says a single-day bank balance certificate “does not show us how you increased your funds”.
That last point is the practical side of the asset checks the Minister described. We set out the amounts, the income alternative and the evidence in detail in our guide to Student visa financial requirements.
Refused in Australia: 28 days to apply to the Tribunal
If you applied for your Student visa while in Australia and it was refused, you can generally ask the Administrative Review Tribunal (the ART, or the Tribunal) to review the decision. Under section 338(2) of the Migration Act 1958, a refusal is reviewable where the visa could be granted while you are in Australia, you applied while in Australia, and the decision was not made while you were in immigration clearance.
Three rules then decide whether a review can go ahead:
- Time. Section 347(3) requires the application within 28 days after the day you are notified of the decision, or within 14 days if you are in immigration detention on the day you are notified.
- No extensions. Section 347(5) says the Tribunal’s general power to extend time does not apply to these decisions.
- Location. Under section 347A(2), you must be physically present in the migration zone (broadly, in Australia) when you apply for review.
The time limit runs from notification, not from when you get around to reading the letter. Under section 66(2) of the Act, the refusal notice must specify the criterion you did not meet and, where the decision is reviewable, state that it can be reviewed and the time limit for applying. Our step by step guide to ART visa appeals covers the process in more detail.
Most student visa reviews are now decided on the papers
If you apply for review of a Student visa refusal, you will most likely not get a hearing.
The Migration Amendment (Administrative Review of Student Visa Refusal Decisions) Regulations 2026 commenced on 1 June 2026. They make an application to review a refusal of a student visa an application “to be reviewed on the papers”. The Tribunal decides on written submissions and documents, and you are not entitled to appear.
The Tribunal must invite you, in writing, to give submissions and evidence, and you have 28 days after you are notified of that invitation to respond. If the Tribunal later puts adverse information to you, the response period is 14 days. The Explanatory Statement to the Regulations is blunt about the first deadline: “The consequence for not replying to the invitation issued under section 367F is dismissal of the review by the ART under section 367M of the Migration Act.”
Two more points from the new rules:
- For students who applied as the primary applicant, one of the issues the Tribunal must ask about is whether you are enrolled in a course of study. Your enrolment status at review stage is itself in play.
- A review is not decided on the papers if the refusal was based, in whole or part, on public interest criteria 4001, 4003B, 4007, 4010, 4013, 4014, 4017, 4018 or 4020, or on a special return criterion, so a hearing remains possible in those cases. Criterion 4020 deals with bogus documents and false or misleading information.
The rules also reach reviews lodged before 1 June 2026 that had not yet been assigned to a Tribunal member by that date. The Explanatory Statement records that the Tribunal received 31,361 applications to review student visa refusals in 2024-25.
On the papers, your written submission is effectively your whole case. There is no hearing in which to fill the gaps later.
Reapplying after a refusal
If you applied from outside Australia and were refused, there is generally no Tribunal review, even if you are in Australia when the decision is made. Section 338 of the Migration Act covers refusals of applications made in Australia, and its offshore categories (such as visas that require sponsorship by an Australian citizen or permanent resident) do not fit a Student visa. The usual path is a fresh application that deals squarely with the reasons for refusal, and that means a fresh visa application charge.
Under Schedule 1 to the Migration Regulations 1994, the base charge for most Student visa applicants is AUD2,500 as at 2 October 2026, with lower amounts for some groups.
If you are still in Australia, two other rules can get in the way:
- Section 48. If you are in Australia without a substantive visa (for example, on a bridging visa after your Student visa expired) and you were refused a visa after you last entered, section 48 of the Act limits you to the visa classes listed in regulation 2.12. Student visas are not on that list. Our article on the section 48 bar explains how it works.
- The new onshore rules. Even where section 48 does not apply, most temporary visa holders, and Student visa holders who do not meet an exemption, now have to apply for a Student visa from outside Australia. We cover those rules in our guide to the student visa changes.
One more trap. If a refusal was based on public interest criterion 4020, it can follow you. Clause 4020(2) of the Regulations requires the Minister to be satisfied that neither you nor a member of your family unit has been refused a visa for giving a bogus document or false or misleading information in the period starting 3 years before your new application. The Student visa includes that criterion. We explain the rule in PIC 4020 and the 3 or 10 year ban.
Frequently asked questions
What is the student visa refusal rate in Australia?
The Department refused a larger share of Student visa decisions in 2025-26 than in any other financial year in its published series, which starts in 2005-06, and the early months of 2026-27 are higher still. The year by year figures are in the table above.
Why do student visas get rejected in Australia?
A refusal turns on the specific criteria the decision maker was not satisfied about, and the refusal notice must specify them. The two most discussed are the Genuine Student requirement and financial capacity, and the Minister has linked the recent rise to closer checks of whether applicants can afford their course.
What happens if my student visa is refused in Australia?
If you applied in Australia, you can generally apply to the Tribunal for review within the strict time limit set out above, and you must be in Australia when you apply. The Tribunal’s application fee for most migration reviews is AUD3,727 as at 2 October 2026, and for migration reviews it must be paid before your deadline. A 50 per cent reduction can be requested for financial hardship.
Can I appeal a student visa refusal made outside Australia?
Generally no. Tribunal review of a Student visa refusal depends on the application having been made in Australia. Outside Australia, the realistic option is usually a new application that addresses the reasons for refusal.
Can I reapply for an Australian student visa after a refusal?
A new application can generally be lodged from outside Australia. In Australia, section 48 and the new onshore rules may prevent a valid application, and a refusal under public interest criterion 4020 can affect later applications.
Which countries have the highest student visa refusal rates?
Among the ten countries with the most decisions in 2025-26, Pakistan, India and Nepal had the highest refusal rates and China the lowest. The figures are in the country table above.
A realistic next step
If you have been refused in Australia, the clock started when you were notified, and on the papers your written submission carries the whole review. If you are preparing an application, the Genuine Student evidence and the source of your funds are the two areas the Department’s guidance and the Minister’s comments point to. Our team acts on visa refusals and Tribunal reviews, and you can book a consultation with our migration lawyers to look at the reasons in your decision and what can realistically be done about them.
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.
