Check the next course, not just the exemption
If you meet an exemption to apply for a further Student visa in Australia, Home Affairs says you cannot package courses unless you are applying for primary or secondary school, a PhD, or your education provider has defaulted. Someone relying on the course progression exemption cannot package courses and must be enrolled in only one future course when applying. More than one future course may mean the application is not valid.
For example, Home Affairs says a Year 12 student relying on course progression cannot apply in Australia for a Foundation-plus-Bachelor package. Its example of a Bachelor graduate proposing a Graduate Certificate plus a Master's also requires applying outside Australia. These examples do not determine your individual eligibility.
Home Affairs expects the next course to begin at the first available intake. It says the gap should be minimal and, in most cases, no longer than two calendar months during the teaching year or four calendar months between standard academic years. Those qualified timeframes are not an automatic entitlement to remain in Australia or stop studying.
Before paying: keep a private record of your completed principal course, its AQF level, the exemption you rely on, every future enrolment, the next available intake and the gap dates. Ask your provider about enrolment evidence and check the complete visa rules before lodging.
Home Affairs: packaged courses and course progression · Check the possible onshore exemptions
One course move can have three different rules
- Changing education provider? Check the temporary 12-month principal-course transfer restriction, any exception or early release with your current provider.
- Changing the course or AQF level? Read condition 8202 and your other grant conditions. A lower AQF course or a move from AQF study to non-award study can require a new Student visa grant before the change.
- Need another Student visa? Check whether your current visa and facts meet a limited onshore application exemption. If not, check the offshore lodgement and grant-location rules before the current visa expires.
An education-provider release, new CoE or visa application is not a substitute for a visa grant. Follow the relevant detail below and the linked official instructions before withdrawing or paying.
If a course change requires another Student visa, check where you can apply
The new Home Affairs rules limit which current Student visa holders can lodge a further Student 500 application in Australia. A course change or provider default does not automatically satisfy an onshore exemption. If you must apply from outside Australia, you must also be outside Australia when the new visa is granted; an offshore application has no linked Bridging visa. Check the complete exemption criteria and your current visa expiry before withdrawing, paying for a replacement course or lodging.
Home Affairs: further Student visa application rules · Invalid applications and offshore grant location
Which current Student holders may apply in Australia?
Home Affairs lists these possible exemptions for a person who currently holds a Student visa and wants another Student visa. Match the complete facts of your current grant, course and proposed application; a course change alone is not an exemption.
- You need up to 12 more months after your original course end date to finish the same provider's course; in a package, it must be the principal course.
- You are sponsored by DFAT or Defence, or are applying to study a PhD.
- You are applying for primary or secondary school study.
- You have completed the principal course at an AQF level and are moving to a higher AQF level. If you completed a higher-education course, Home Affairs adds that the next course must also be higher education with a higher-education provider.
- You completed school and are moving to a course without an AQF level, or completed a course without an AQF level and are moving to a course with one.
- You cannot continue the course because your education provider defaulted.
These are different from the 12-month provider-transfer restriction and visa condition 8202; all relevant rules need checking. A Student dependant who wants to become the primary Student applicant must lodge offshore and be outside Australia at grant, with no onshore exemption. Someone holding an affected temporary visa other than a Student visa also has no onshore exemption under this rule. An invalid onshore application can affect visa status; an offshore application does not create a linked Bridging visa. Check the live list and your current expiry before making a financial commitment.
Home Affairs: possible exemption summary · Home Affairs: validity, grant location and bridging visas
Three checks hidden by a short exemption list
Home Affairs' summary gives starting categories. The registered LIN 26/087 instrument adds conditions to some of them. Match the instrument and your actual course, CoE and application dates before treating a category as permission to lodge in Australia.
- More time to finish: the instrument describes a principal course already commenced, or a permitted alternative principal course with the same provider, which remains unfinished and will be completed within 12 months after the end date on its CoE. A new offer for an unstarted course is not this extension test.
- Provider default: the course must have become impossible to complete because of the default, you must have been enrolled on the default day, need the further visa for an alternative registered course or subsequent registered study, apply within 12 months of that day, and not have already applied because of the same default. Ask the provider to confirm the default date and your enrolment; a voluntary transfer is a different situation.
- Course progression: the instrument describes a completed principal course and enrolment in no more than one further course. Its AQF and higher-education requirements still apply; a proposed package needs a careful check rather than a broad “higher level” assumption.
This is a reading aid for the published rules, not a determination that your onshore application is valid. An invalid application will not be considered. Ask a registered migration agent or Australian legal practitioner for case-specific help if your timeline, package or visa status is unclear.
Federal Register: LIN 26/087 sections 17–19 · Home Affairs: onshore summary · Home Affairs: invalid applications
The transfer restriction is now 12 months for most overseas students
The Department of Education says an overseas student outside the school sector who wants to move to another education provider must generally complete 12 months of the principal (main) course first, rather than six. This is a temporary change to Standard 7 of the National Code. The Department says the period returns to six months on 1 July 2027; school students remain on the first-six-months-of-the-first-school-course rule. The 12 months are measured from commencement of the principal course, not added afresh from 2 October. Someone who passed six months before this change but has not completed 12 months may be restricted again for a time.
There are exceptions and possible early release. Education's student fact sheet lists examples where a course or provider is no longer registered, a provider sanction prevents the course continuing, or a government sponsor gives written support. You can ask the current provider for early release under its policy; the provider assesses the request. Do not withdraw on the assumption that an offer, CoE or six completed months permits a provider transfer. Ask the current provider how the rule and any exception apply to your dates. A same-provider course change is a different question, but still requires the visa-condition checks below.
This education-provider transfer restriction is separate from Student visa condition 8202 and any need for a new Student visa when changing AQF level. Check both before acting. Department of Education student fact sheet and examples · Education: effective date and school exception
BSB80120 Graduate Diploma of Management (Learning): check your course status now
The Department of Education and ASQA describe a change to this specific VET course's CRICOS registration from 5 October 2026. From that date, providers cannot issue new CoEs, enrol new overseas students or start students who have not already commenced the course. This concerns the course code BSB80120; do not apply it to every course with “management” in its name.
- Already enrolled and started before 5 October: the official guidance says existing students can continue studying and complete it with their current provider.
- Offer or CoE, but not started by 5 October: the official guidance says the GDML CoE is cancelled under the 5 October rule and the student cannot commence it. Contact the provider promptly about alternatives.
- GDML later in a course package: ask the provider which part changes, whether the other courses can continue and what replacement CoE is needed. Check the proposed AQF level and your visa conditions before changing.
Check your status with your provider now: your course code, CoE, actual course commencement date and any provider message about cancellation or continued study. If you have not started, ask your provider in writing to confirm the GDML CoE's current status, any other courses in a package, placement or unspent tuition fees. Ask whether a provider default applies to your enrolment; do not assume that every course change is a default or that another course automatically meets your visa conditions.
ASQA course-specific notice · Education: effective date and existing students
Where the change results in a provider default for you, Education's Student fact sheet says the provider has 14 days from the default to offer an alternative course you can choose to accept or refund unspent tuition fees. The Tuition Protection Service may help if those obligations are not met. A refund or alternative placement is not a visa decision. Ask separately about your current visa, expiry, CoE and any pending application.
Read the official Student fact sheet and examples · Download the official Student fact sheet (PDF) · Registered instrument F2026L01160 · Home Affairs provider-default steps
What does condition 8202 require?
Home Affairs says condition 8202 applies to Student visa holders. It requires enrolment in a registered course, satisfactory attendance and course progress under your provider's requirements, and continued enrolment at the same or a higher Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) level than the course for which the Student visa was granted. A registered course appears on CRICOS. Home Affairs states an exception for a move from a doctoral degree at AQF 10 to a master's degree at AQF 9.
Check the actual conditions attached to your visa in the grant notice or VEVO. Record the current course, its AQF level, the proposed course and its level. A course with a similar name is not necessarily at the same level. Ask both education providers how the enrolment and transfer will be handled before you withdraw.
Official condition 8202 wording · Check your conditions in VEVO · Check the proposed course on CRICOS
When is a new Student visa needed before changing?
Home Affairs says a Student holder who wants to transfer to a lower AQF level, or from an AQF course to a non-award course, must apply for and be granted a new Student visa before making that change. Lodging an application, receiving a provider offer or receiving a new CoE is not the same as a new visa grant. Changing first may breach condition 8202 and put the current visa at risk.
A move to the same or a higher AQF level is different under the level part of 8202, but the other conditions still apply: remain enrolled, maintain progress and attendance, and check any conditions about your research or welfare. A doctoral-to-master's move has the stated AQF 10-to-9 exception; check its application to your actual course and other conditions before changing.
| Proposed change | Starting check |
|---|---|
| Same or higher AQF level | Check enrolment, provider transfer, dates and other visa conditions. |
| Lower AQF level or AQF to non-award | Home Affairs says obtain a new Student visa grant before changing. |
| Doctorate AQF 10 to master's AQF 9 | Read Home Affairs' stated exception and any other conditions on your grant. |
Home Affairs changing-course rule · Current Student 500 instructions
AQF level is only one part of the decision
If your grant has condition 8203 or 8204 and you are considering a change to your thesis, major or research topic, Home Affairs provides a separate Change of Study Assessment Request. Check whether it applies and wait for any required assessment before proceeding. If condition 8208 applies to proposed postgraduate research involving specified critical technology, the Department describes a separate approval request in ImmiAccount before starting that study. It says a master's by coursework does not need approval under that particular condition; read the full condition and your grant rather than treating all master's courses alike.
These are not extra conditions on every student's visa in the same way. Your grant notice and VEVO show what applies. If you are under 18, keep any approved welfare arrangements in place during a provider or course change.
Official 8203/8204 assessment request · Official condition 8208 and approval steps · Under-18 welfare checks →
Check the course gap, visa expiry and provider status
The 8202 wording says the gap between courses should generally be no more than two months. It lists exceptions for an end-of-academic-year break, education-provider default, and completion of a course while applying for a new visa. Those are specific circumstances; a gap is not automatically permitted because a provider accepts a later intake. Compare the old end date, new start date, CoE status and visa expiry before changing enrolment.
If the new course will finish after your current visa expires, Home Affairs says to plan a new Student visa application before expiry. From 2 October 2026, first check whether a further application can be lodged inside Australia; some current Student holders must apply and receive the new visa offshore. If your provider closes or cannot deliver the agreed course, its provider-default process may offer a replacement course or refund. For a student already studying, Home Affairs says to obtain a new CoE within three months of the cancellation or closure. It also describes a possible visa application charge exemption for a qualifying new Student application lodged no more than 12 months after the provider-default day. Check that specific process rather than assuming an ordinary voluntary transfer has the exemption.
Official provider-default steps and dates · Official course-gap exceptions
Five checks before moving course or provider
- Read your grant notice and VEVO; note every study and welfare condition, plus the visa expiry date.
- Check both courses on CRICOS and confirm their AQF levels, CoE dates and whether the proposed course is non-award.
- If moving providers, ask the current provider how the temporary 12-month principal-course restriction or an exception applies before cancelling enrolment. Ask the proposed provider about its enrolment and reporting steps.
- Check whether you need a new Student visa grant or a separate Home Affairs assessment or approval before the proposed change.
- Keep the new CoE and correspondence, watch ImmiAccount for requests, and check that course and insurance dates cover the intended stay.
If a withdrawal, lower-level transfer, visa expiry or other condition makes the sequence unclear, get case-specific help from a registered migration agent or Australian legal practitioner before acting. The official pages and your own grant control your situation.
Home Affairs change in study situation · Who may give immigration assistance · Return to the Student 500 guide →
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