Australia Opens Consultation on Student Visa Overhaul

Australia has opened consultation on a potential overhaul of its student visa framework.

By Career Ahead AI · Australia — AI-assisted, fact-verified against cited sources. Readers should verify key facts.

The consultation responds to concerns about refusals

The Department of Home Affairs released a consultation paper setting out options to revise Ministerial Direction 106. Julian Hill, assistant minister for international education, spoke about the issue at the Australian International Education Conference (AIEC) 2026 in Sydney. The paper proposes changes to how student visa applications are assessed, including separate considerations for people starting a course and those continuing or returning to study.^¹²³

Hill said Navitas data and market feedback showed that refusal rates were affecting key markets. He also said the government would not compromise on integrity, while describing students as terrified that a visa refusal could hurt their chances of studying elsewhere. Hill rejected suggestions that migration targets drove the rise in refusals. Those statements frame the consultation around both application scrutiny and the effects that refusals can have on prospective students.^¹

Home Affairs and the Department of Education had been working with the Student Visa Technical Reference Group. The consultation now sets out possible revisions to Ministerial Direction 106, including different considerations according to whether an applicant is beginning a new course or continuing or returning to study. The paper presents these as options for changing the framework; the available details do not establish that any one option has been adopted.^¹²³

Home Affairs and the Department of Education had been working with the Student Visa Technical Reference Group.

Proposals set different tests for tuition and living costs

One proposed model would require students to demonstrate that they held 50% of the total tuition and prescribed living costs for their full course or package of courses. The funds would need to have been held for at least one month. A second model would require the same amount to be held for three months, but would not impose mandatory restrictions on access to the money. The options therefore differ in both the holding period and access conditions.^¹

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A third option would require 100% of first-year tuition and prescribed living costs to be held for three months. A fourth would create a controlled pathway for recognised education finance. Hill pointed to New Zealand’s system, where students deposit funds for tuition and living costs. The consultation describes several possible ways to demonstrate financial capacity, from holding course-related funds to using a recognised finance pathway.^¹

Prospective earnings from work in Australia would not count as a substitute for essential tuition and living costs under the proposal. That distinction separates money applicants can demonstrate they have from income they might earn after arriving. The financial models described in the consultation focus on showing funds for study and living costs; future Australian work earnings would not fill a shortfall in those essential amounts.^¹

Some applicants may face added evidence requirements

The department is weighing an interim measure for primary applicants from countries classified as Evidence Level 3. Under the proposal, deposits would generally need to show six months of transaction history. This would give the department a period of account activity to examine alongside the funds being presented, rather than relying only on the balance shown at one point in time.^¹

Financial support would normally need to come from the student, their spouse, parents or another approved supporter.

Financial support would normally need to come from the student, their spouse, parents or another approved supporter. The proposal would generally exclude unsecured personal loans and loans that had not been paid out. Together, these conditions specify who could provide the funds and which borrowed amounts would not generally qualify as available financial support.^¹³

Refusal rates differ across markets

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The student visa refusal rate reached 24.2% in June 2026, a 10-year high, up from 7.9% in June 2016. More than 40% of applications from India were refused in 2025-26, while China’s refusal rate remained at 5.8%. The figures show sharply different refusal outcomes across these markets, alongside a rise in the overall rate over the period cited.^¹²³

The Department of Home Affairs says the increase reflects enhanced scrutiny of applications that do not meet visa requirements. Separately, since June 1, 2026, most student visa refusal reviews at the ART are generally being decided without an oral hearing. The consultation concerns the visa framework and proposed assessment changes, while the review process described for the ART concerns challenges to refusals.^¹²³

Plan Funds Before You Apply

If you are an Indian applicant, the refusal rate above 40% in 2025-26 makes financial proof the decisive hurdle. The proposed models require holding 50% or 100% of tuition and living costs for one to three months, and future Australian earnings will not count. Build a cash buffer now, keep it in one account, and avoid unsecured loans, which the proposals generally exclude.^¹²³

Applicants from Evidence Level 3 countries face added scrutiny: deposits must show six months of transaction history, and support must come from the student, spouse, parents, or an approved supporter. Since refusal reviews at the ART now usually skip oral hearings, a weak financial file is harder to overturn. Prepare clean, traceable records before you apply.^¹²³

Applicants from Evidence Level 3 countries face added scrutiny: deposits must show six months of transaction history, and support must come from the student, spouse, parents, or an approved supporter.