Australia's 2026 Migration Changes: Every Visa, What's In Force

How to read the status labels on this page

Each measure below carries one of five plain-language statuses.

- In force: an instrument or Ministerial Direction has been made and has commenced, and a Home Affairs page reflects it.
- Under way: an administrative change with no instrument, described on a Home Affairs page.
- Announced, not yet made: the Minister or a release described the measure, but no instrument, direction or visa page implementing it has been found.
- Needs legislation: the Minister has said the measure cannot proceed without a bill, and no bill has been found.
- Reported only: the fact appears in news or law-firm commentary and not in a primary source that was located.

A measure that is announced is not law. Reading a headline such as "students can no longer bring family" without the date, the visa subclass and the instrument leads to wrong conclusions in both directions, so every item below names all three where they exist.

What was announced on 17 September 2026

The package was set out in a media release, on the Home Affairs "Australian Government Migration Policy Changes" page, and in the Minister's National Press Club address on the same day. The release says the changes are "designed to deliver the Net Overseas Migration forecasts in the Budget of 245,000 in this financial year and 225,000 in 2027/28" and that they give the government "more control over who arrives, who stays and who leaves".

The Home Affairs page gives the only official statement on timing: "These changes have begun to be implemented and will be progressively rolled out over the next 12 months."

The speech and the release do not list identical measures. The release does not mention the points test redesign. The speech does not mention the update to Ministerial Direction 110 on character. The speech's list of priority sectors for skilled processing also differs from the release's. This page cites whichever source actually carries each claim.

In the speech the Minister also said the reforms were "not as comprehensive as I would like them to be", and that some levers could not be used "without legislation". Those measures are covered under "Measures that need legislation" below.

Student visas: onshore applications and visa hopping (in force 2 October 2026)

The Migration Amendment (Student Visa Reform) Regulations 2026 (F2026L01347) were made on 1 October 2026 and commenced the next day, 2 October 2026. They apply to applications made on or after that date.

The main changes to where a student visa can be lodged and granted:

- A person who already holds a Student (subclass 500) visa, as a primary or secondary holder, must generally be outside Australia to apply for a further 500.
- Where the offshore requirement applies at lodgement, the applicant must also be outside Australia when the visa is granted.
- The previous 28-day window that let a person apply onshore after their Student visa ceased was removed from the regulation.
- Exemptions are set out in the Regulations and in a Home Affairs instrument (LIN 26/087). They include Defence and Foreign Affairs students, school students, doctoral students, students affected by provider default, students who need up to 12 more months to finish the same principal course with the same provider, and students progressing to a higher qualification level.

The progression exemption is narrow. The instrument says that if the completed course had a qualification level, the next course must be at a higher level, and if the completed course was higher education, the next must be a higher education course delivered by a higher education provider. Home Affairs gives examples: an English language course to a bachelor degree can be lodged in Australia, an English language course to another English language course cannot, and a bachelor graduate moving to a Graduate Diploma at a vocational provider cannot.

Home Affairs states that a person who lodges onshore when they were required to be offshore has made an invalid application, that "invalid decisions cannot be merits reviewed at the ART", and that no bridging visa is linked to an application lodged outside Australia.

The Minister's speech described a same-level course transfer as acceptable through a new visa. The regulation and the Home Affairs pages are narrower than that description, and they are the operative text.

Detail is on the page "Student visa changes from 2 October 2026".

Student visas: 17 classes of visa holder barred from applying onshore (in force 2 October 2026)

A separate instrument, the Migration (Student Visa Applications to Be Made from outside Australia) Instrument 2026 (LIN 26/102, F2026L01348), lists classes of visa holder who can only make a valid Student (500) or Student Guardian (590) application from outside Australia. It commenced on 2 October 2026. It replaced an earlier instrument made on 21 September 2026 (LIN 26/068) that listed nine classes.

The 17 classes are: 400; 403 (Domestic Worker (Diplomatic or Consular) stream only); 407; 408; 417; 457; 462; 482 (Skills in Demand); 482 (Temporary Skill Shortage); 485; 600; 601; 602; 651; 771; 988; and 995 (primary holders only).

Compared with the instrument it replaced, the new entries are 400, 407, 408, 417, 457, 462 and both 482 streams. In practical terms, working holiday makers and 482 holders lost the ability to lodge a 500 or 590 from inside Australia from 2 October 2026.

The explanatory statement describes the intent as preventing "certain temporary migrants who entered Australia, for a purpose other than study, from applying for a Subclass 500 visa or Subclass 590 visa to prolong their stay in Australia."

Home Affairs says of this list: "There are no exemptions to this rule." Current Student Guardian (590) holders can continue to lodge a further 590 while in Australia.

Student visas: family members (in force 2 October 2026)

From 2 October 2026 a Student visa applicant can include family members only in set circumstances. The Regulations allow a secondary applicant only if the primary applicant is a Defence student, a Foreign Affairs student, or holds a passport from a Pacific regional country or an ASEAN country specified in the Regulations. A secondary applicant who was already in Australia holding or applying for a secondary 500 at commencement is also covered, as is a child born in Australia on or after commencement to a qualifying student, and classes specified by instrument.

The instrument (LIN 26/087) adds families of students whose courses are fully funded by a foreign government, families of doctoral students, and families already on a secondary 500 where the primary is affected by provider default or is completing within the 12-month extension.

Home Affairs lists the exempt groups as PhD students, DFAT or Defence-sponsored students, foreign government scholarship recipients, and eligible students from Pacific and ASEAN countries. It says a Master's by Research does not qualify for the PhD exemption.

Secondary applicants must now apply at the same time and place as the primary applicant. A person who holds a Student visa cannot add family later as a subsequent entrant: Home Affairs says "There are no exemptions to this rule."

Applications lodged before 2 October 2026, including those that included family members, continue to be assessed under the rules in place when they were lodged. The Minister said that families already in Australia would not be broken up.

Detail is on the page "Student visa family members: what changed". The Minister framed the family restriction as applying to student visas and graduate visas. The graduate half has not been implemented (see below).

Student visas: provider transfers and the 2027 transfer stream

An amendment to the National Code of Practice under the Education Services for Overseas Students framework (F2026L01351, registered 1 October 2026) took effect on 2 October 2026. Until 30 June 2027 inclusive, registered providers are generally prohibited from enrolling an overseas student who is transferring from another registered provider unless the student has completed at least 12 months of their principal course. The previous minimum was six months. The explanatory statement says the period reverts to six months from 1 July 2027.

The same explanatory statement is the official source on the next step: "The relevant migration reform announced will create a stronger requirement for students to be granted a new student visa before they may transfer their studies to another international education provider, and is intended to take effect in mid-2027." No regulation creating that transfer stream has been found. It is announced only.

Detail is on the page "Changing course or provider on a student visa".

Temporary Graduate (485): family members (announced, not in force)

In the Press Club speech the Minister said "we will no longer be allowing the attaching of family members for international students or for graduate visas." The media release and the Home Affairs policy page say only that the government is "restricting secondary applicants on most student visas".

As at 12 October 2026 no instrument amends the 485 criteria. The Student Visa Reform Regulations amend subclass 500 only. The Home Affairs pages for the Post-Higher Education Work stream (updated 7 October 2026) and the Post-Vocational Education Work stream (updated 24 September 2026) still say a 485 applicant can include family members in the application and that family can apply later as subsequent entrants.

No start date or exemption list for the 485 has been announced. Law-firm commentary has reported that the Assistant Minister said similar restrictions will apply to Temporary Graduate visas. That was not confirmed against the release.

Detail is on the page "485 Graduate visa and family members".

Working Holiday Maker: the second and third year ballot (announced, not in force)

The Minister said the program will move "to a ballot system for years two and three". Applicants will still need to meet the existing regional work requirement: 88 days for the second year and six months for the third. "That won't change. But what you will be qualifying for is a ballot." The stated limits are 45,000 for year two, against 57,000 who qualified last year in the Minister's figures, and 5,000 for year three, against 31,000.

The release says the program will change "to introduce a ballot system for years two and three where there will be a regional work requirement in support of regional Australia."

No instrument creating a ballot has been found. The Home Affairs WHM latest news page (updated 23 September 2026) and the second and third Working Holiday (417) and Work and Holiday (462) pages say nothing about a ballot. The mechanism, the start date and the ballot rules have not been published. The 45,000 and 5,000 figures are announced limits and not rules in force.

How the ballot treats United Kingdom passport holders has not been stated in a primary source. The Minister said the UK has no regional work requirement and that the government is "working within all free trade agreements". An SBS report says the changes will not affect UK citizens. That is news coverage, not a published rule.

Separately, Home Affairs says it is "normalising processing timeframes for most WHM visa applications" with an average expected "around three months". That is an administrative change and is already described on the Home Affairs site. The Minister said it applies to applicants with a regional requirement, and that UK applications will keep the current pace.

The first-year Indonesia 462 ballot, with registrations "expected to open later in 2026", is a separate bilateral arrangement and is unrelated.

Detail is on the pages "Working holiday ballot for second and third visas" and "UK and Irish backpackers: working holiday changes".

Visitor visas: the No Further Stay condition (announced; status unconfirmed)

The Minister said a no further stay provision will be attached to visitor visas. The release says: "Introducing a No Further Stay condition to all visitor visas to ensure they are only used by genuine visitors and not as a pathway to extending a stay in Australia." He said it "will have no impact on anybody who is already here because this is about the issuing of future visas". He also said a protection application cannot be barred in this way.

The stated purpose is to end the pattern of visitors lodging onshore partner visa applications and moving onto bridging visas. The Minister said it would also mean a partner waiting for a spouse visa could visit Australia regularly.

On 11 October 2026, in a Sky News interview, the Minister said "We've stopped that with the no further stay condition." No instrument, no start date and no Home Affairs visa page confirming the condition has been found. The Visitor (600) pages, last updated before the announcement, still say a person can apply for a new visa onshore "if your current visa does not have a condition that prevents further stay, such as condition 8503".

Condition 8503 already exists. The Migration Regulations already provide that for some Visitor (600) streams the condition may be imposed, and for others must be imposed. They have no 8503 provision for the ETA (subclass 601) or eVisitor (subclass 651). That is an analysis of the Regulations and not a government statement, but it indicates that a condition on every visitor visa, including the 601 and 651, would be likely to need a regulation change.

Because the measure is described as applying to future grants, a person who already holds a visitor visa without 8503 is not described as affected.

Detail is on the pages "Visitor visa no further stay condition" and "Visitor visa to onshore partner visa".

Skilled visas: processing priorities (in force 19 September 2026)

Ministerial Direction 121 (temporary skilled visas) and Ministerial Direction 122 (provisional and permanent skilled visas) were signed on 18 September 2026 and commenced the next day. Direction 121 revokes Direction 119, which was dated 24 July 2026. Home Affairs states that the new Directions "have replaced all processing priorities under Ministerial Direction 119".

Direction 121 covers the 482 (Skills in Demand and Temporary Skill Shortage). Direction 122 covers 186, 187, 189, 190, 191, 489, 491, 494, 887 and 888. The order of priority for applications under Direction 121 is:

- Applications relating to Construction, Healthcare, Teaching, Agriculture, Aquaculture, Fishing and Resources sectors, or Australia's law enforcement and defence interests.
- Applications in the Specialist Skills stream of the Skills in Demand visa.
- Applications where the applicant was in Australia when they lodged.
- Applications where the primary applicant was outside Australia, not combined with another person's application.
- All other applications.

Direction 122 follows the same order without the Specialist Skills tier. Direction 122 states that it "does not change the composition of the skilled migration occupation lists" and that applicants "must meet the requirements set out in the Act and the Regulations in order to be granted a visa". A processing priority sets the order in which applications are considered. It does not make an application more likely to succeed.

Detail is on the page "Skilled visa processing priorities: Directions 121 and 122".

Skilled visas: the points test (announced, not in force)

The Press Club speech said the points test has been redone "in consultation with Treasury", particularly for the permanent part of the skilled program. The only detail given is that "anyone who is skilled in the housing trades will get the same number of points as though it were a university qualification". The speech said this would apply "on implementation".

No points table has been published. The occupations counted as housing trades, the points value and the start date are not defined. The points test is in Schedule 6D of the Migration Regulations 1994, and no amendment to Schedule 6D has been found. The Home Affairs policy page and the media release do not mention the change. The current points-table page on the Home Affairs site could not be found. One instrument registered in this period, a remake of the Fields of Education instrument, keeps the existing STEM field list going and is not the announced change.

Until an instrument is made, the existing points test applies.

Detail is on the page "Points test changes for trades".

Character: Ministerial Direction 110 (announced; replacement text reported only)

The media release says Ministerial Direction 110 will be updated "to combat hate and criminal behaviour by: better protecting children who are victims of crime; better protecting victims of domestic and family violence, and reflecting modern Australia's commitment to stamping out hatred." The speech does not mention it.

Several law firms have reported that the replacement is Ministerial Direction 123, signed on 18 September 2026 and commencing on 31 October 2026. The text of Direction 123 was not found on the Home Affairs website, so the date and content are reported only and are not confirmed here. Readers should check the Home Affairs site for the Direction itself.

Measures that need legislation

Two measures were described by the Minister as impossible without legislation.

The first is an expression-of-interest system for demand-driven visas. The Minister said: "I can only do that part of it if we have legislation, and at this point we don't." He linked it to work visas and student visas.

The second is limiting non-meritorious protection claims. The Minister said that applicants from countries where more than 85 per cent of applications fail make up 80 per cent of the caseload, and that "this is one that I can only deal with legislation". Those figures are the Minister's own and have not been independently checked here.

No bill for either measure has been found. The Federal Register of Legislation shows no amendment to the Migration Act since 4 June 2026. The Parliament's bills register could not be read directly while researching this page, so bill status relies on that and on secondary reports dated 2 October 2026 which say none had been introduced. On 11 October the Minister said "the door has remained open" to the opposition but he had "no indication from the opposition that they're back at the table".

Migration agents: a change to the Code of Conduct (announced)

The Minister said "we'll be changing the code for migration agents" so that agents who encourage non-meritorious claims "will be able to be sanctioned and will be able to be deregistered". The release describes it as "cracking down on rogue migration agents who knowingly support visa applications without merit".

The speech tied it to protection claims. The release wording is broader. No amending instrument has been found and no start date has been announced.

Overstayers: compliance officers and detention (announced; operational)

The Minister said the government would "go back to what Australia always did before 2015", with "an additional 100 compliance officers" and "an additional 250 beds". He said the government is using alternative places in detention near airports and is looking at the former quarantine facility in Melbourne. He described the old practice as giving a person a bridging visa, telling them to leave, and bringing them into detention if they had not left, so that they would arrange their own flight. In the Question and Answer session he said the 250 beds are not permanent places. On 11 October he said that work "has started again".

No law is needed for this: the existing powers to detain unlawful non-citizens apply. No dates or locations have been published in a primary source. The naming of a specific Melbourne facility appears in news coverage only.

Domestic and family violence advocates have raised concerns about the effect on people experiencing family violence whose visa status depends on an abusive partner. That is reported by the ABC as the view of those advocates. Home Affairs has said family violence is "not acceptable under any circumstance". Family violence provisions in the partner visa program are described factually on the page "Family violence provisions in the partner visa". If you or someone you know is experiencing family violence, 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732) is a national service that can help.

Detail is on the page "Overstayers, detention and compliance in 2026".

Net overseas migration: the 245,000 and 225,000 targets

The stated aim of the package is to deliver net overseas migration of 245,000 in 2026-27 and 225,000 in 2027-28. The release says net overseas migration is "falling to 292,000, down 47 per cent from the post-Covid peak in 2023". The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported net overseas migration of 292,100 in the year to 31 March 2026, in the population release published on 17 September 2026.

In the Question and Answer session the Minister said net overseas migration has been "viewed as a Budget forecast" and that more tools are needed "to make sure that what is published and forecast is reached". He also said student planning levels are unchanged. Some news reports say 225,000 applies to each year after 2027-28. The primary sources name 2027-28 only.

Detail is on the page "Net overseas migration targets for 2026-27 and 2027-28".

Who is not affected

Several groups and visas are not changed by what has been announced or made.

- Skilled workers' family members. The Minister rejected removing them: "No, we've made the decision with respect to students." Skilled visa family rules are unchanged.
- Free trade agreement concessions. The Minister said "We are working within all free trade agreements in everything that I've said".
- Partner and family visas. No measure about partner or other family visa criteria was announced. The visitor visa condition is about visitor visas, not the partner visa itself.
- The regional work requirement for working holiday second and third visas: 88 days and six months, unchanged.
- The Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme. No change was announced.
- Student planning levels. The Minister said "our planning levels are unchanged".
- Applications already lodged before 2 October 2026 under the student visa rules. They continue under the rules in place when lodged.
- Families already in Australia on a student visa. The Minister said they would not be broken up, and the Regulations provide for secondary applicants in Australia at commencement.
- Student Guardian (590) holders lodging a further 590 in Australia.
- Anyone who already holds a visitor visa. The Minister said the condition "will have no impact on anybody who is already here".
- The composition of the skilled occupation lists. Direction 122 states that it does not change them.

The page "Migration changes and people who already hold or have lodged" covers the position for existing holders and lodged applications measure by measure.

Which measure relates to which visa

This is a map of where to read, not an assessment of any person's position.

- Student (500) or Student Guardian (590): the student visa reforms in force from 2 October 2026; the provider transfer period; the announced transfer stream.
- Temporary Graduate (485): the 485 is on the list of visas that cannot lodge a 500 onshore; the family restriction is announced only.
- Working Holiday (417) or Work and Holiday (462): the lodging bar for a 500 or 590; the announced ballot; the processing time.
- Visitor (600, 601, 651): the announced no further stay condition.
- Skilled (186, 187, 189, 190, 191, 482, 489, 491, 494, 887, 888): Directions 121 and 122; the announced points test change for points-tested visas.
- Partner and family: no partner visa criteria changed; read the visitor visa item if you hold or plan to apply for a visitor visa.
- Protection: the proposed legislative changes.
- Registered migration agents: the proposed Code change.
- Anyone without a valid visa: the compliance measures.

A registered migration agent can assess how a specific measure applies to a specific case. The Migratio directory lists agents on the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority register.

What is still undecided

As at 12 October 2026 the following are unresolved.

- Whether and when the working holiday ballot will start, how it will operate, and how it treats UK passport holders.
- Whether the 485 family restriction will start, when, and with what exemptions or transitional rules.
- Whether a No Further Stay condition has started, which visitor subclasses it covers, and whether a regulation will be needed for the 601 and 651.
- The new points test: the table, the list of housing trades, the start date.
- The content and date of the replacement for Ministerial Direction 110.
- The mechanism and timing of the student transfer stream, intended for mid-2027.
- Whether any bill for the expression-of-interest system or protection reforms will be introduced, and whether it would pass.
- The text of the change to the migration agents Code of Conduct.
- Whether Parliament will disallow any part of the Student Visa Reform Regulations. None of the research for this page found a disallowance motion.
- Dates, locations and numbers for the compliance and detention measures.

The opposition has put out a different set of policies, including a lower net overseas migration path. Those are proposals, not law, and are set out with their sources on the page "Coalition and Labor migration policy compared".

This page is dated. Check the date at the top of the page and the Home Affairs "Australian Government Migration Policy Changes" page for the current position.

What migration changes are actually in force in Australia right now?

As at 12 October 2026, two groups of measures from the 17 September 2026 package have commenced. The student visa reforms commenced on 2 October 2026: most further Student visa applications must be lodged and granted offshore, 17 classes of visa holder cannot lodge a 500 or 590 onshore, and family members can be included only in exempt cases. Ministerial Directions 121 and 122 on skilled visa processing priorities commenced on 19 September 2026. Working holiday processing is also being brought back to about three months.

Is the working holiday ballot for second and third years in force?

No. The Minister announced a ballot with limits of 45,000 for year two and 5,000 for year three. As at 12 October 2026 no instrument has been found and the Home Affairs working holiday pages do not mention a ballot. The 88-day and six-month regional work requirements were said to stay the same. The start date and ballot rules have not been published.

Have the family member rules for the 485 graduate visa changed?

Not yet. The Minister said family members would no longer be attachable for graduate visas, but the Student Visa Reform Regulations amend subclass 500 only, and the Home Affairs 485 pages still say family can be included and added later. No start date has been announced. This could change, so check the Home Affairs 485 pages for the current rules.

Does a no further stay condition now apply to all visitor visas?

That is not confirmed. The government announced it on 17 September 2026 and the Minister said on 11 October that it had been put in place, but no instrument, start date or Home Affairs visa page confirming it was found. The announcement says it applies to future visas only, so it would not affect a visitor visa already granted. Check the conditions on the grant notice and the Home Affairs visitor visa pages.

Is the new points test for trades in force?

No. The speech said housing trades would score the same points as a university qualification once the new test is implemented. No points table and no amendment to Schedule 6D of the Migration Regulations have been found. The existing points test applies until an instrument changes it.

Which migration changes need new legislation?

The Minister said an expression-of-interest system for demand-driven visas and limits on non-meritorious protection claims need legislation. No bill for either has been found, and the Minister said on 11 October that he had no indication the opposition was back at the table. Other measures use regulations, instruments or Ministerial Directions, which do not need a new Act.

Are applications lodged before the changes affected?

For the student visa reforms, applications lodged before 2 October 2026, including those that included family members, continue to be assessed under the rules in place when they were lodged. For other measures, no start date or transitional rule has been published. The page on transitional rules sets out what is known measure by measure. A registered migration agent can say how a specific application is treated.

Does this page give migration advice?

No. It is general information on what has been announced and made, with sources and a date. It does not assess anyone's eligibility or say what a person should do. A MARA-registered migration agent can assess an individual case.