Thousands of international students came to Australia, paid their fees, and followed every condition of their visa. They chose their courses, universities, loans and homes under the rules in force when they enrolled.

On 2 October 2026, with one day's legal notice, the rules changed for everyone, including students already halfway through their studies. Most must now leave Australia to apply for the visa they need to finish, and stay overseas until it is granted. Students who changed university or college under the old rules, as their visa allowed, have lost the exemption for finishing their course. The 28-day window to apply after a visa ends is gone. No students or community groups were consulted.

The Government has already accepted that people already here should be protected: family members who held a Student visa when the changes began keep their position. Australia did the same for international students in 2010 and for 457 visa holders in 2017.

We ask for one thing:

Apply the new Student visa rules to new students only. Let students who already held, or had applied for, a Student visa on 2 October 2026 continue under the rules they came under.

Every new student would still come under the new rules from day one. Existing students would still face every integrity check. The Government can make this change itself, without a new law passed by Parliament.

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