Check this first
These changes do not automatically cancel your current student visa. Applications lodged before 02/10/2026 are assessed under the rules that applied when lodged.
Working holidays and offshore applications
Working holiday holders on 417 or 462 cannot apply for a student visa in Australia. Check the current restricted list for other visas, including 600, 601, 651 and 485. Prepare a genuine study plan, finances and admission arrangements for an offshore application.
Where offshore application rules apply, you must be outside Australia both when applying and when the visa is granted. Plan departure, processing time, re-entry and their costs together.
A further student visa
A current primary student visa 500 holder generally applies offshore for a further student visa. This differs from a secondary family member on 500 applying as a primary student. Do not assume the primary-holder exemptions apply to a secondary holder.
Course completion: check the statutory conditions, including completing the principal course or a qualifying alternative at the same provider within an additional 12 months of the CoE end date.
Further study: check actual principal-course completion at application, enrolment in one further course, a higher AQF level and any required Higher Education course and provider conditions. A Diploma-to-Bachelor or Bachelor-to-Master title alone does not establish eligibility.
Completion of a non-AQF principal course followed by an AQF course, and completion of school study followed by a non-AQF course, have separate conditions. Doctoral, school, government-sponsored and provider-default cases have specific exemptions, evidence and deadlines. Provider default also requires checks of enrolment at default, the 12-month period and repeat applications.
Family and provider transfers
New family inclusion is restricted. Distinguish doctoral, specified government-funded, qualifying Pacific or ASEAN students and transitional existing-family cases. Combined applications also require checks of the same-location condition. The subsequent-entrant route for adding family after grant has been removed.
The principal-course provider-transfer restriction for general non-school study is 12 months until 30/06/2027. Check the six-month school restriction, release or provider-default exemptions and visa conditions separately. Review agent-commission rules before enrolling following a transfer.
Prepare for your consultation
- Current country, visa, primary/secondary status and expiry
- Provider, principal course, CoE and actual or expected completion
- Study goals, English, grades and total budget
- Family visas, location and earlier application dates, if relevant
Frequently asked questions
Can a working holiday holder apply for a student visa in Australia?
From 02/10/2026, holders of 417 and 462 cannot apply in Australia. Where offshore rules apply, you must also be outside Australia at grant.
Are all further student visas unavailable?
Further primary student applications generally require offshore lodgement, with statutory exemptions such as qualifying completion or progression. Review the conditions against your current documents.
Who should I contact?
Contact Melbourne HQ with your visa, location, school, completion date and study goals using the HQ phone, email or counselling form.
Official sources
Let’s organise your studies and next steps.
I EDU NET Melbourne HQ advises on schools, admission and budgets, and connects you with an appropriately qualified professional for individual visa review.
Request study counsellingMelbourne HQ counselling
GF North, 310 King Street
Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia