Australia Student Visa: Requirements, Fees, Process Changes in 2026

Planning to study in Australia? Before booking your flights or finalising your university plans, you’ll need to understand the Australian Student visa requirements, the documents you need, and how much money you should set aside for your application.

The Australian Student visa (subclass 500) allows international students to study full-time at an eligible Australian education provider. As of October 2026, the visa application charge starts at AUD 2,500 for most primary applicants, while the minimum living-cost amount for an individual student is AUD 29,710 for 12 months, in addition to applicable tuition fees and travel expenses. Source: Study Australia: Student visa; Home Affairs: Visa pricing

This guide explains the Australian Student visa requirements in 2026, including eligibility, fees, financial evidence, application steps, work rights, common refusal risks, and what to do after your visa is approved. Since late 2025, how fast your application moves depends partly on the university you picked, and grant rates for Indian applicants have dropped below one in two in some months. 

(Immigration rules and fees can change. This guide reflects the research available as of 12 October 2026. Check the latest official guidance before applying.)

What changed for the Australian student visa in 2026

Six changes matter if you are applying for a 2026 or 2027 intake. Most requirements are the same as last year. The cost, the queue, the scrutiny, and the rules on family members and applying from inside Australia are not. 

Who needs a Subclass 500 visa, and what does it allow?

The Student visa (subclass 500) is the visa for studying a registered course in Australia. It covers higher education, vocational courses, pathway and English language courses, school study, postgraduate research, and non-award study such as exchange semesters.

From 2 October 2026, you can no longer include family members in a first or further Student visa application unless an exemption applies. Exemptions cover doctoral students, nationals of Pacific and ASEAN countries, fully funded foreign government scholarship recipients, and students sponsored by DFAT or Defence. Family members cannot be added after the visa is granted. Source: Study Australia, Student visa changes: October 2026 update.

You cannot apply for the visa first and pick a course later. You enrol with a provider, receive a Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE), and only then lodge the visa application. That order shapes the whole timeline below.

When should you start? A 12-month timeline

Start about a year before your course begins. You can lodge a student visa application at any time, but the steps before lodging take months, and Study Australia advises checking current processing times and leaving enough room before your planned arrival.

The student we interviewed, now four months into a Master of Public Health in Brisbane, put it plainly:

The biggest tip I would give someone is to start the process at least a year in advance. I started around 11 months before coming here.

— Master's student, The University of Queensland

Note: The month ranges are amber's suggested planning windows, not government deadlines.

When students actually book their room

The last row before arrival is where most students run short of time. Amber’s 2026 bookings for Australia show that the average student booked 41 days before move-in for the February intake and 37 days before for July. Half booked with a month or less to go.

Booking late usually means choosing from what is left, at a time when you also need an address for your provider within 7 days of arriving. If your visa is granted early, use the head start: students who booked more than two months out were a minority in both intakes.

Step-by-Step Process of Visa Application

Here is the whole step-by-step process for applying for an Australian student visa:

Step 1: Get your offer and Confirmation of Enrolment

Your visa application rests on one document from your provider: the Confirmation of Enrolment. It is issued after you accept your Letter of Offer and pay your deposit, and a copy goes into your visa application as proof that you are enrolled in the course you declared.

Read the Letter of Offer before you accept it. It sets out your course details, enrolment conditions, fees, and refund arrangements, and the refund terms decide what you get back if you never start the course. Keep a copy.

Getting the offer is a university process, not a visa one, and it has its own paperwork. If you studied outside the usual grading systems, expect to convert your grades and chase transcripts. Our interviewee studied her previous degree abroad under a different grading scale and needed conversion certificates before her preferred university could assess her. Her previous university supplied them once she asked:

My process was relatively easy because when I explained my situation to my university, they provided me with the required documents.

— Master's student, The University of Queensland

She also sat course-related interviews and had to meet a minimum grade requirement, which varies by university and by course. None of that is assessed by the Department of Home Affairs, but all of it has to be finished before you can get a CoE, which is why it sits at the front of the timeline.

Since 2 October 2026, most temporary visa holders can no longer apply for a Student visa from inside Australia, and current student visa holders can only do so if an exemption applies. If you are eligible to apply onshore, the application must include a CoE. A Letter of Offer alone makes it invalid.

Step 2: Meet the five visa requirements

With a CoE in hand, the Department of Home Affairs assesses five things: whether you are a genuine student, your English, your money, your health cover, and your health and character. Each one can sink an application on its own, so treat them as five separate jobs.

1. Genuine Student requirement

The Genuine Student (GS) requirement is a set of questions inside the online application form. Your answers tell the decision maker who you are and why you want to study in Australia, and they give context to the documents you attach.

The questions cover:

• Your current circumstances, including ties to family, community, employment and your economic situation
• Why you chose this course and Australia 
• How the course will benefit you
• Your study history in Australia, if any
• Your reasons for applying, if you hold a visa other than a student visa
• Anything else relevant you want to add

Write answers that only you could have written. Name the course units, the career step it leads to at home, and what a comparable course in your own country would not give you. Then attach evidence that backs each claim.

2. English language Tests

The standard English language requirement for an Australian Student visa is IELTS 6.0 or an accepted equivalent test score, where English-language evidence is required. Lower scores may apply to certain eligible courses or packaged study pathways, while some applicants may be exempt. Check the current requirements for your circumstances before booking a test. You meet the requirement with either a valid passport from the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, New Zealand or the Republic of Ireland, or a result from an approved test taken at a secure test centre.

Note: At-home and online versions are not accepted. That rules out IELTS Online, IELTS Indicator, TOEFL iBT Home Edition, and OET@Home. Your university may ask for a higher score than the visa does, so check the course entry requirements first and aim for whichever is higher.

3. Proof of funds

You must show you can pay for travel, course fees, and living costs. Study Australia states that student visa applicants must have access to at least AUD 29,710, the 12-month living cost amount for a single student.

Note: The partner and child amounts apply only if you are eligible to include family members under the rules in force since 2 October 2026.

Course fees and travel costs sit on top of these amounts. Evidence can include money held with a financial institution, an eligible loan, or a scholarship. Whether you must upload it at lodgement depends on your country and provider, which the Document Checklist Tool tells you (see Step 3).

4. Overseas Student Health Cover

You need Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) for your entire stay, and so do any family members included on your visa. An application without proof of OSHC will be refused.

The basic plan usually covers GP visits, some hospital treatment, ambulance, and limited medicines. It does not cover dental, optical, or physiotherapy. Six insurers offer OSHC: ahm, Allianz Care Australia, Bupa, CBHS International Health, Medibank, and nib.

5. Health and character

You may need a health examination, and you can complete it before lodging through the My Health Declaration service. On character, the form asks about your past conduct, and some applicants are asked for a police certificate.

Step 3: Gather your documents

There is no single document list for everyone. The Department of Home Affairs generates one for you through its Document Checklist Tool, based on your passport country and your education provider. The result tells you whether financial and English evidence must be uploaded when you lodge.

Even if the tool says that evidence is not required at lodgement, the Department can still ask for it while processing your application. Have it ready either way.

Note: If you cannot finish an English test, biometrics, or a health examination in time, attach proof of the steps you have taken to your application in ImmiAccount. A decision can be made at any point after lodging, and an incomplete application can be refused.

Step 4: Budget for the fees

From 1 July 2026, the student visa application charge starts at AUD 2,500 per application, for most applicants. It has gone up every July for three years, so the number a friend or senior paid is probably not the number you will pay.

Our interviewee was caught on the right side of one of these rises:

Soon after I applied, the cost increased.

— Master's student, The University of Queensland

If you are close to ready in May or June, lodging before 1 July is worth the push. Do not rush an incomplete application to beat a fee rise, though. Home Affairs says it will not refund where the application “was refused or unsuccessful” or the applicant changed their mind. 

Not everyone pays AUD 2,500. Applicants for standalone ELICOS and non-award courses, ASEAN passport holders, and applicants from Pacific Island countries and Timor-Leste were excluded from the July 2026 increase and pay a lower charge. Check the Home Affairs pricing table for your amount. - Source: Study Australia, Student Visa Application Charge increase.

The application charge is one line in a longer list. Budget for these as well:

The visa minimum is not your real cost of living

AUD 29,710 is what you must prove, not what a year in Australia costs. Study Australia says so directly: living costs vary across the country and may be higher than the amount needed for the visa.

Spread over a year, AUD 29,710 is about AUD 571 a week for everything: rent, food, transport, phone, and study costs. Rent takes the biggest share, and how big depends on where and how you live. Our interviewee chose the cheapest workable option on purpose:

My rent is around AUD 260 per week, including bills, which is very low compared with what some of my friends pay. My friends pay around AUD 400 per week, which is a lot.

— Master's student, The University of Queensland

She also kept her first commitment short, taking a six-month contract so she could move once she knew the city. And she funds herself, which shaped the choice:

The pay here can be good, but rent is also really high. Whatever I earn can basically go towards rent.

— Master's student, The University of Queensland

Her own estimate is that an international student could need more than INR 2 lakh a month for a basic lifestyle, depending on rent. Treat that as one student's experience in Brisbane, and build your own number with the Australian Government's cost of living calculator.

The practical point for your visa: plan your funds against the real figure, then prove at least the official one.

What students actually pay for rent

Our interviewee's AUD 260 room is at the low end. Median weekly rents for 2026 bookings on amber, which are mostly purpose-built student accommodation, sit well above it in every major city:

Number of bookings in brackets. †Small or uneven sample, treat as indicative.

Set against the AUD 571 a week that the visa amount works out to, a non-ensuite room in Brisbane, Sydney, or Melbourne takes about 70% of it. A Sydney ensuite or studio costs more than the whole amount, before food, transport, or anything else.

Step 5: Apply through ImmiAccount

Student visa applications are lodged online through ImmiAccount, the Department of Home Affairs portal. You do not need an agent to lodge.

One rule on paid help is worth knowing before you hire anyone. Only a registered migration agent or a legal practitioner can lawfully give you immigration assistance in Australia. An education agent can help you choose a course and provider, but unless they are also a registered migration agent, they cannot advise on your visa.

Sources: Study Australia, How to apply for your visa; Study Australia, Student visa (subclass 500)

How long does processing take in 2026?

There is no fixed processing time, and in 2026, part of the answer depends on your provider. Under Ministerial Direction 115, which took effect on 14 November 2025, offshore student visa applications are processed in three priority tiers linked to how much of its student allocation each provider has used.

Here is how that works. The government sets a National Planning Level of 295,000 new international student places for 2026 and the same for 2027, and gives each provider an allocation within it. Applications for a provider are processed as Priority 1 until that provider reaches 80% of its allocation. After that, Priority 2 applies when a provider is between 80% and 115% of its allocation, and Priority 3 once it reaches 115%.

What this means when you choose where to study:

• The National Planning Level is a planning arrangement for international student places, not a guarantee of a visa. You can still apply, but every application is assessed against the applicable visa requirements and eligibility rules.
• It applies to applications lodged outside Australia. Onshore applications are not prioritised this way.
• Some groups do not count toward allocations, including higher degree by research students, standalone English language (ELICOS) students, non-award students such as exchange students, and school students. TAFE students are exempt from the planning level in 2027.
• Timing matters more than before. Applying early in a provider's intake cycle makes it more likely your application lands in the Priority 1 queue. Ask your provider's admissions team where they stand on their allocation.

For current processing times, use the Home Affairs visa processing time guide, which is updated regularly. A complete application is the one thing you control: missing or incorrect documents slow processing and can lead to refusal.

Note: Provider priority status does not affect visa outcomes, only processing time. 

What if your visa is refused?

Refusals are common enough in 2026 that you should plan for the possibility. In June 2026, 46% of offshore higher education visa applications from India were granted, and across all nationalities, 32% of offshore higher education applications were refused. Visas granted to offshore higher education applicants fell 16% in the 2025-26 financial year.

From the applicant's side, the hard part is often not knowing why. Our interviewee described the process this way:

There isn't much transparency. Even if your visa gets rejected, there isn't much transparency about why it happened.

— Master's student, The University of Queensland

She was granted her visa, and this is her impression of the system from her own application and from people around her. You cannot remove that uncertainty, but you can remove the avoidable reasons for refusal.

What you can control:

• Financial evidence. Show funds with a clear history and a source you can document. 
• Genuine Student answers. Specific, consistent with your documents, and backed by evidence.
• Completeness. Missing documents can lead to refusal without a further request.
• Consistency. Dates, names, and course details should match across your passport, CoE, transcripts, and form.

If you are refused, the decision letter states the reasons and whether you have a right to review. Read it before deciding between a review and a fresh application. A fresh application means paying the charge again. Changes that took effect on 1 June 2026 mean that most student visa refusal reviews are decided without an oral hearing, subject to limited exceptions. Source: Administrative Review Tribunal, Changes to the conduct of student visa reviews.

What a refusal means for your accommodation booking

Amber’s own bookings show how much more common this became during 2026. Visa refusal was behind fewer than 1 in 10 student cancellations for the February intake, and close to half for July.

After the grant: what to sort before you fly

Once the visa is granted, the planning shifts from paperwork to logistics, and nobody hands you a checklist. Our interviewee was blunt about it:

Nobody is really going to tell you exactly what to do. You have to plan everything yourself.

— Master's student, The University of Queensland

Her method is simple: every task with a deadline goes into her calendar the moment she knows about it. Here is what belongs on yours.

Know your visa conditions

Your grant letter lists them, and you can check them any time in VEVO, the Home Affairs online visa checking system. The ones students most often trip on:

Book accommodation with your address deadline in mind.

Because your provider needs an address within a week of arrival, it helps to secure a room before flying. Our interviewee paid her rental bond before she left India and signed a six-month agreement for her own room in a shared house, with a separate agreement from her housemates. A separate agreement generally means you are responsible for your own room and rent rather than for the whole household.

A bond is a refundable security deposit, returned at the end of the tenancy after any deductions. 

Note: Where you lodge your bond depends on the state you’re renting in:

• Queensland: Residential Tenancies Authority 
• NSW: Rental Bonds Online (NSW Fair Trading) 
• Victoria: Residential Tenancies Bond Authority
• South Australia: Consumer and Business Services
• Western Australia: Bond Administrator (Consumer Protection)

Her six-month agreement is a common choice, not an unusual one. Amber’s 2026 bookings for Australia fall into two main groups: a full year, or roughly one semester.

The most common single lengths were 50 to 52 weeks in both intakes, followed by 20 to 21 weeks for February and 26 weeks for July. If you are arriving mid-year or are unsure about the city, a semester-length contract is a normal option and lets you move once you know where you want to live.

A shorter contract does not make cancelling easier. Booking and cancellation terms on amber are set by each property, so check them on the property page before you pay, including what happens if your visa is refused (covered above).

Expect the first months to be slow. Here’s a piece of advice from our student ambassador to new arrivals:

Don't give up during the initial days. Things take time to get sorted here.

— Master's student, The University of Queensland

Working and paying tax on a student visa

You can work up to 48 hours a fortnight while your course is in session, and unlimited hours during scheduled course breaks. Breaking the limit can get your visa cancelled, so it is worth knowing exactly how it is counted.

The hour limit is the rule. Finding the hours is the harder part, and students arriving in 2026 should not assume a job in the first month. Four months in, our interviewee said several friends were still looking:

Even my friends haven't found jobs yet. They've been here for around four months, and some of them are still relying on their parents' money.

— Master's student, The University of Queensland

She searches on Seek, one of the job platforms Study Australia also lists for graduates, and says networking and connections matter a lot. Plan your first semester's budget as if you will have no income, and treat any job as a bonus.

When you do find work, three rules protect you:

• You have the same workplace rights as any other worker in Australia, including the minimum wage for your type of work. If you are paid less, you will not be in trouble for reporting it to the Fair Work Ombudsman.
• You apply for a Tax File Number (TFN) through the Australian Taxation Office and give it to your employer when required. If you do not provide your TFN, your employer may have to withhold tax at a higher rate.
• Your Australian tax status depends on your circumstances. If you are an international student enrolled in a course lasting six months or more, you may be considered an Australian resident for tax purposes, but this is not automatic. Australian tax residents can generally claim the tax-free threshold of AUD 18,200 for a full financial year, although the rules may differ for part-year residents. The Australian financial year runs from 1 July to 30 June, and 31 October is the usual deadline for lodging a tax return if you lodge it yourself. Check the Australian Taxation Office’s guidance to understand which rules apply to you.

Your employer must also give you a payslip within one working day of paying you, and pay superannuation if you are eligible. You may be able to claim that super back when you leave Australia for good.

After your course: the Temporary Graduate visa

A student visa is tied to your course, and staying on means a new visa and a new fee. For most graduates, the next step is the Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485), which allows unrestricted work in any sector.

Basic eligibility: you must be 35 or under when you apply (exceptions apply), have held a student visa in the last 6 months, and hold a recent qualification from a CRICOS-registered course. You choose a stream when you apply and cannot change it afterwards.

Cost is worth planning for early. Our interviewee had heard that the Temporary Graduate visa had become significantly more expensive, and the published charges bear that out. If post-study work is part of your reason for choosing Australia, put that fee in your budget now. The government has also said it will restrict Temporary Graduate applicants from including family members, with details still to come. 

She also warned against planning around other people's outcomes:

You can't compare your timeline with someone who has already settled here or someone who came five years ago.

— Master's student, The University of Queensland

Visa settings, fees, and pathways to permanent residency have all changed since then. Plan based on the rules in force when you apply.

Our Takeaways

Plan your visa and accommodation together. At amber, we recommend shortlisting rooms early and checking cancellation terms before committing.

• Budget for the life you’ll actually lead. Use local rents and everyday expenses to build your budget, with a buffer for delays and time spent finding work.
• Look beyond “No Visa No Pay”. Check the property’s deadlines, required evidence and refund deductions before paying.
• Give preparation enough time. A complete, consistent application matters more than rushing to meet an intake.
• Build your plans around current rules. A friend’s visa outcome or post-study pathway is no guarantee of your own.

Methodology

1. Amber’s internal data

Accommodation figures come from Amber’s own booking records for Australian properties with a 2026 move-in date, as of 12 October 2026.

• Bookings: Confirmed bookings used for the booking-timing and tenancy-length figures.
• Rent: 2,500+ confirmed bookings. Used for median weekly rents by city.
• Refusals: February and July student cancellations where the recorded reason was “Student’s visa got denied”. Used for the refusal impact figures.

Cancelled bookings are excluded from the booking and rent data. February intake covers January to March move-ins, and July intake covers June to August move-ins. Cancellation terms come from individual property pages on amberstudent.com, accessed 12 October 2026:

• Iglu Flagstaff Station, Melbourne
• West Footscray, Melbourne

2. Student ambassador interview

First-hand experiences come from an interview with an Amber ambassador studying in Brisbane, conducted on 8 October 2026. The student’s name is withheld at her request. Her quotes are used as she gave them, and her rent figures describe her own situation, not an average.

3. Third-party sources

Visa rules, fees, financial amounts, processing arrangements and work rights come from official sources.

Study Australia

• Student visa (subclass 500)
• How to apply for your visa
• Student visa changes, October 2026 update
• Student Visa Application Charge increase
• Ministerial Direction 115
• International education settings for 2027
• 2027 National Planning Level
• Language testing organisations
• English language requirements changes
• Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC)
• Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485)
• Your work rights explained
• Tax and superannuation
• StudyAdelaide: Financing your studies

Department of Home Affairs

• Student visa (subclass 500) listing
• Changes to Student visa application rules (subclasses 500 and 590)
• Applying for a Student visa in Australia
• Visa pricing and fees
• Getting a refund
• Document Checklist Tool
• Meeting the English language requirement
• Visa processing times
• Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485)
• Student visa work condition 8105

Department of Education

• 2026 managed growth settings
• Visa prioritisation status under Ministerial Direction 115
• National Planning Level for 2027

Australian Taxation Office

• Studying in Australia
• Tax in Australia: what you need to know

Administrative Review Tribunal

• Changes to the conduct of student visa reviews
• Frequently asked questions about changes to hearings

Media

• Times Higher Education: Application numbers slump as Australia rejects third of visa bids (refusal statistics, July 2026)

State bond authorities

• Queensland Residential Tenancies Authority
• NSW Fair Trading: Rental Bonds Online
• Victoria: Residential Tenancies Bond Authority
• South Australia: Consumer and Business Services
• Western Australia: Consumer Protection

4. Data cut-off

All figures, rules and prices in this guide reflect sources available as of 12 October 2026.

5. Disclaimer

This guide is for general information only. It is not legal, migration or financial advice, and Amber is not a registered migration agent. Visa rules, fees and processing arrangements can change at any time, so check the latest Home Affairs and Study Australia guidance before applying. Property cancellation terms are set by each property, so read them on the property page before you pay.