New Student visa rules commenced on 2 October 2026. We are asking the Australian Government to consider fair grandfathering arrangements for genuine students and families already in Australia, and to undertake comprehensive consultation with students, education providers, migration professionals and other affected stakeholders. This is not about weakening visa integrity—it is about fair transition, consultation and recognising decisions already made under the previous rules.

Why this petition is necessary

On 2 October 2026, significant changes to Australia's Student visa framework commenced under the Migration Amendment (Student Visa Reform) Regulations 2026 and associated legislative instruments. The principal Regulations were registered on 1 October 2026 and commenced the following day. Federal Register of Legislation

The Department of Home Affairs explains that the new rules change who may apply for and be granted a Subclass 500 Student visa or Subclass 590 Student Guardian visa while in Australia, as well as the circumstances in which family members can be included. 

Among other things, most affected temporary visa holders can no longer lodge Student or Student Guardian visa applications while in Australia. Existing Student visa holders seeking another Student visa are also subject to the new restrictions unless an exemption applies. Where a person cannot apply onshore, they generally need to be outside Australia both when making the application and when the Student visa is granted. 

The reforms nevertheless recognise certain exceptions, including specified circumstances involving doctoral study, provider default, completion of the principal course and genuine academic progression. The legislative material explains that academic progression can permit an onshore application where, for example, the completed course has an AQF level and the new course is at a higher AQF level, subject to additional requirements for higher education courses. F2026L01349ES

The changes also significantly affect family arrangements. The Department states that Student visa applicants generally cannot include partners or dependent children unless an exemption applies, and that current Student visa holders can no longer add family members as subsequent entrants after the Student visa has been granted, with no exemption to that particular rule. changes-to-student-visa-applica…

We acknowledge and respect the Government's responsibility to protect the integrity of Australia's migration and international education systems.

This petition does not ask the Government to abandon that objective.

It asks a different question:

Should people who were already lawfully in Australia, and who made substantial education, financial, career and family decisions under the rules existing when they commenced their Australian journey, be treated in exactly the same way as people entering the system after the new policy was announced?

We respectfully submit that this deserves reconsideration.

The issue is transition, not integrity

The Government's own transitional approach already recognises one important distinction.

Student visa applications lodged before 2 October 2026, including applications containing family members, continue to be assessed under the rules applying when those applications were lodged. changes-to-student-visa-applica…

However, many people already lawfully living and studying in Australia had not yet reached the stage at which their next visa application needed to be lodged.

They may nevertheless have already:

paid substantial tuition fees;

commenced multi-year courses;

entered accommodation arrangements;

structured packaged courses;

changed institutions;

made legitimate academic plans;

planned future postgraduate studies;

made financial commitments;
planned for spouses or children to join them;

or made other significant decisions based upon the regulatory environment that existed when those decisions were taken.

The commencement provisions provide that the amendments apply to visa applications made on or after commencement. Federal Register of Legislation

That creates a sharp dividing line based principally on when the next application happens to be lodged, rather than necessarily when the student's Australian education journey commenced or when substantial commitments were made.

We ask the Government to reconsider whether that produces fair outcomes for all existing students.

We are asking for grandfathering — not unrestricted visa hopping

The request should not be misunderstood.

We are not asking for unrestricted movement between unrelated courses, automatic visa grants, weakened Genuine Student requirements, or exemptions from health, character, financial, English-language or other applicable visa requirements.

We are asking the Government to consider a carefully designed transitional or grandfathering framework for people already genuinely established in Australia before 2 October 2026.

Such arrangements could preserve the Government's integrity objectives while avoiding unintended hardship.

For example, the Government could consider transitional protection for persons who, before commencement:

held a valid Student visa in Australia;

held another eligible temporary visa and had already enrolled or made substantial education commitments;

had commenced a genuine packaged education pathway;

had accepted an offer or obtained a CoE;

had paid tuition fees or deposits;

had entered documented arrangements concerning subsequent study;

had declared existing family members in earlier visa processes;

or could otherwise demonstrate substantial reliance on the previous framework.

The precise eligibility criteria should be determined following proper consultation rather than through this petition.

Family unity deserves particular reconsideration

One of the most consequential aspects of the reform concerns family members.

The Department's own infographic states that current Student visa holders can no longer add family members after grant. student-500-infographic

We respectfully ask the Government to examine transitional protection where the relationship or family unit already existed before 2 October 2026, particularly where the family member had previously been declared to the Department or there is other objective evidence that the family relationship predates the reforms.

This is fundamentally different from creating a new family arrangement after commencement.

A student who came to Australia while intending for an already-existing spouse or child to join later may have made very different financial and personal decisions had today's rules existed when the original visa was obtained.

We ask that those circumstances be considered carefully.

Genuine students should not be unnecessarily disadvantaged for changing providers

The reforms contain an important exception allowing certain students to obtain another Student visa onshore where they need additional time to complete their principal course.

However, the Explanatory Statement indicates that this particular provision requires continuation with the same provider in the circumstances specified, and expressly says students who transferred their principal course to a new provider will not qualify under that provision. F2026L01349ES

We ask the Government to consider whether genuine students who changed providers before the reforms were announced, for legitimate academic, financial, welfare, location or provider-related reasons, should automatically lose access to a transitional pathway merely because the provider changed.

Provider changes should be assessed according to their circumstances rather than automatically equated with non-genuine behaviour.

Meaningful industry consultation is essential

This is perhaps the strongest reason for asking the Government to revisit the implementation process.

The Explanatory Statement records consultation with Commonwealth agencies, including the Department of Education and Department of Employment and Workplace Relations.

It then expressly states:

“Non-government organisations have not been consulted.” F2026L01349ES

For reforms capable of materially affecting international students, families, education providers and Australia's international education sector, we respectfully believe broader stakeholder consultation would improve both policy design and implementation.

We therefore request a structured consultation involving, among others:

current international students and student representative organisations;
universities and higher education providers;
TAFEs, vocational education providers and schools;
registered migration agents and their professional associations;
immigration lawyers and legal professional bodies;
education agents;
international education peak bodies;
employers and industry groups;
multicultural and community organisations;
student welfare and support organisations;
relevant state and territory governments;
Department of Home Affairs;
Department of Education;
Department of Employment and Workplace Relations; and
other relevant government and independent bodies.
Consultation should specifically examine transitional fairness, family impacts, provider changes, packaged courses, academic progression, students with existing financial commitments, offshore application consequences and unintended impacts upon Australia's international education sector.

What we are requesting the Australian Government to do

We respectfully request that the Australian Government:

1. Introduce appropriate grandfathering arrangements for eligible students and affected family members who were already lawfully in Australia before 2 October 2026.

2. Consider a transitional pathway based on genuine pre-existing commitments, rather than relying solely on whether a further visa application happened to be lodged before commencement.

3. Reconsider the position of pre-existing family members, particularly spouses and dependent children whose relationship to the Student visa holder existed and can be demonstrated before 2 October 2026.

4. Provide appropriate transitional consideration for genuine students who changed education providers before commencement, rather than treating a prior provider change as automatically preventing access to an otherwise relevant completion pathway.

5. Conduct comprehensive consultation with government and non-government stakeholders before further major implementation or refinement of these reforms.

6. Publish clear transitional guidance and practical examples so students, providers, migration professionals and families can understand exactly how different circumstances will be treated.

7. Consider an appropriate transitional period allowing affected students to obtain professional advice and restructure study, financial and family arrangements where necessary.

8. Maintain strong integrity safeguards so any grandfathering arrangement protects genuine students without creating an avenue for misuse.

Fair reform can also be strong reform

Australia has every right to determine the conditions applying to temporary visas and to strengthen the integrity of its international education and migration systems.

But strong regulation and fair transition are not mutually exclusive.

A carefully designed grandfathering arrangement would not require the Government to abandon the reforms.

It would recognise a basic distinction between:

people who make decisions after knowing the new rules, and

people who had already built substantial parts of their education and family arrangements around the rules that existed before 2 October 2026.

That distinction deserves serious consideration.

International students contribute not only tuition fees, but also participate in Australian classrooms, communities, workplaces and regional economies. Equally, Australia's international education system benefits when its regulatory framework is regarded as transparent, predictable and appropriately consultative.

The Government's stated purpose for these amendments is to strengthen the integrity of the Student visa program and reinforce its primary purpose of temporary stay for study. F2026L01349ES

We support protecting the integrity of the system.

We ask the Government to protect fairness in the transition as well.

Our request is simple:

Consult widely.

Protect genuine students already here.

Recognise pre-existing commitments.

Introduce fair grandfathering arrangements.

Strengthen the system without imposing avoidable hardship on those who made genuine decisions under the previous rules.

We respectfully ask the Australian Government to urgently review the transitional arrangements associated with the Student visa reforms commencing on 2 October 2026.