The 2026 Migration Changes If You Already Hold a Visa or Have Already Applied

Why transitional rules matter

A transitional rule says which version of a rule applies to a person who was already in the system when the rule changed. Most of the 17 September 2026 measures have no published transitional rule yet because they have not been made into law. Where an instrument has been made, it usually says what happens to applications lodged earlier.

There are two different questions here and they are easy to mix up.

- Applications already lodged: is the application assessed under the old rules or the new ones?
- Visas already granted: does the change alter the conditions or entitlements of a visa a person already holds, or does it change what that person can apply for next?

A rule can leave a granted visa untouched and still change what the holder can lodge next. The student visa changes are the clearest example. Throughout this page, the words "the instrument says" or "the Minister said" are used to separate what is written into law from what was said at a press conference or interview.

Student visas (500 and 590)

Status: in force from 2 October 2026.

Applications already lodged. The Migration Amendment (Student Visa Reform) Regulations 2026 contain a transitional clause that applies the amendments "in relation to an application for a visa made on or after the commencement". The explanatory statement says applications lodged before commencement and not yet finalised "will not be impacted by the proposed amended application and grant criteria". Home Affairs says: "Applications lodged before 2 October 2026 will continue to be assessed under the rules that were in place when they were lodged. This includes applications that included family members."

Family members already in Australia. The Minister said that anyone who already has their family attached to a visa and is already here is not going to be broken up. The Regulations provide for a secondary applicant who, at commencement, held a secondary Student visa in Australia, or had applied for one and was later granted it. A child born in Australia on or after commencement to a student who held or had applied for a 500 at commencement is also covered. Under section 78 of the Migration Act a child born in Australia to a visa holder is taken to be granted a visa of the same kind and terms as the parent.

Holders applying for a further Student visa. This is where a granted visa does not protect a person. A person who already holds a 500 and wants a further 500 must generally be outside Australia to apply, unless they fall into an exempt class. The 28-day window after a Student visa ceases, which previously allowed an onshore application, was removed. The fact that someone held a 500 before 2 October 2026 does not exempt them. The Home Affairs page lists one group where a person must have "held or applied for a Student visa before 2 October 2026", and that exemption is within a set of other conditions on the page.

Adding family after grant. Home Affairs says current Student visa holders can no longer add family members as subsequent entrants after the visa has been granted, and "There are no exemptions to this rule." This applies to people who hold a 500 now, even though their own visa was granted earlier.

Other temporary visa holders. The instrument that lists 17 classes of visa holder who must lodge a 500 or 590 from outside Australia commenced on 2 October 2026 and works through the amended regulation, which applies to applications made on or after that date. Home Affairs says of those visa holders: "There are no exemptions to this rule."

What is not stated. The sources read for this page do not say how an application lodged before 2 October 2026 but by a person now in a barred class is treated beyond the general rule that earlier applications continue under earlier rules.

Provider transfers

Status: in force from 2 October 2026 until 30 June 2027.

The amendment to the National Code provides that from commencement until 30 June 2027 inclusive, providers are generally prohibited from enrolling an overseas student who is transferring from another provider unless the student has completed at least 12 months of their principal course. The previous minimum was six months, and it returns on 1 July 2027.

The explanatory statement was read for this page. It does not set out, in the portions relied on here, how the 12-month minimum treats a student who had already begun a transfer before commencement. That detail is in the instrument and the explanatory statement, which are the sources to read. A student's education provider and a registered migration agent can say how it applies to a specific enrolment.

The later transfer stream, which would require a new student visa before changing provider, is announced for mid-2027 and no regulation exists. There is no transitional rule to report.

Temporary Graduate (485) family members

Status: announced, not implemented.

Nothing has changed in the instruments. The Student Visa Reform Regulations amend subclass 500 only, and the Home Affairs 485 pages (updated 7 October 2026 and 24 September 2026) still say family members can be included in an application and added later as subsequent entrants.

The Minister's speech said that "Anyone who already has their family attached to a visa and is already here, we're not going to be breaking up families onshore." He was speaking about students and graduate visas together. That is a statement of intent. It is not a transitional rule, and it does not say whether a 485 holder could add a new family member later. No start date, exemption list or transitional rule for the 485 has been published.

In practice, the safest reading is that the current 485 rules apply until an instrument says otherwise. Check the Home Affairs 485 pages, because this is a measure with a stated direction but no detail.

Working holiday second and third year ballot

Status: announced, not implemented.

The speech said applicants would still need to meet the current regional work requirement (88 days for the second year, six months for the third) in order to qualify for a ballot. No instrument exists. The Home Affairs working holiday pages do not mention a ballot.

There is therefore no published rule on:

- Whether someone who has already done regional work will enter the ballot or be treated under the existing rules.
- What happens to an application already lodged for a second or third visa.
- Whether the ballot would apply to people who already hold a first or second visa.
- How the ballot treats UK passport holders. The Minister referred to free trade agreements and did not state the treatment.

People who have already been granted a second or third working holiday visa hold a granted visa. Nothing in the sources read says those visas change.

The lodging bar is a separate matter and is in force. From 2 October 2026 holders of the 417 and 462 cannot lodge a Student visa application onshore.

Separately, the processing time change is administrative: Home Affairs says average processing is expected to be around three months and advises applicants not to book flights or make commitments until the visa is granted.

Visitor visas and No Further Stay

Status: announced; implementation unconfirmed.

The Minister said the condition "will have no impact on anybody who is already here because this is about the issuing of future visas and the rules for future visas." The release also describes the condition as applying to visitor visas going forward.

On 11 October the Minister said the condition had been put in place, but no instrument, start date or Home Affairs visa page confirming the date has been found. Without a date, the point at which "future" begins is not known from the sources read.

What the Regulations already say is that, for some Visitor (600) streams, the No Further Stay condition 8503 may or must be imposed, and the Home Affairs pages tell visitors that a further application onshore is possible if the current visa has no condition that prevents further stay. A person's own grant notice lists the conditions on their visa. That notice is the document that shows whether 8503 applies to them.

Nothing found says a granted visitor visa is varied or that conditions are added to existing grants. An application for a partner visa already lodged onshore by a visitor is not addressed in the sources read.

Skilled visas: Directions 121 and 122

Status: in force from 19 September 2026.

Direction 122 states that it "applies to visa applications made, but not finally determined, before the commencement of this Direction, and to visa applications made on or after commencement." So for the provisional and permanent skilled visas it covers, applications lodged before 19 September 2026 and still undecided are placed in the new order.

The Directions do not apply to applications remitted by the Administrative Review Tribunal or where the Tribunal substituted a decision. Direction 122 also does not apply to applications where it is readily apparent that the criteria for grant would not be satisfied. It also excludes subsequent-entrant family applications where the primary applicant was in Australia when they applied.

The text of Direction 121 for the temporary skilled visas was read on its first page for this page: it is signed 18 September 2026, commences the day after signing, and revokes Direction 119. Its provisions on applications already lodged were not relied on here. The Direction itself should be read for that.

The Home Affairs visa pages show allocation dates that "may fluctuate" during the transition. A processing priority changes the order of consideration. It does not change the criteria for the visa, and Direction 122 says it does not change the occupation lists.

Points test

Status: announced, not implemented.

No instrument amends Schedule 6D, and the speech gave no start date beyond "on implementation". No transitional rule exists. It is not known from published sources whether the change would apply to expressions of interest already lodged, to invitations already issued, or to applications already lodged. Until an instrument is made, the existing points test applies. The Home Affairs 189 page still describes an invitation round under the current test.

Character: Direction 110

Status: announced in the release; replacement text reported only.

The release lists the update. Law-firm commentary reports a replacement Direction 123 starting on 31 October 2026. The Direction was not located on the Home Affairs site, so how it treats applications or cancellation decisions already under consideration is not known from a primary source. Do not rely on commentary for that point; check the Direction once it appears.

Migration agents Code of Conduct, overstayers, protection claims and the expression of interest system

Migration agents Code. No instrument exists and no date has been announced. There is no transitional rule.

Compliance and detention. These rely on existing powers, so there is no new transitional rule. They concern people who do not hold a valid visa now. The Minister described the approach as returning to pre-2015 practice, in which a person is given a bridging visa, told to leave, and detained if they do not. Family violence provisions in the partner visa program are described on a separate page, and 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732) is a support service for anyone experiencing family violence.

Protection claims and the expression of interest system. Both need legislation and no bill has been found. Any transitional rules would be in a bill, and none exists to read.

What to watch

The areas where transitional rules matter most, and are still missing, are:

- The working holiday ballot, because many people are part-way through regional work now.
- The 485 family restriction, because many graduates have family with them or plan to add them.
- The visitor visa condition, because the date it starts is not published.
- The points test, because a person's expression of interest may already be in the pool.

Home Affairs said the changes would be "progressively rolled out over the next 12 months", so more instruments are likely. When an instrument is made, its commencement and application clauses are the places to look for the transitional rule. This page will be updated as that happens. A registered migration agent can read those clauses against an individual's dates and visa history.

I lodged a student visa application before 2 October 2026 with my family included. Is it affected?

The regulations apply to applications made on or after 2 October 2026, and Home Affairs says applications lodged earlier, including those with family members, continue to be assessed under the rules in place when they were lodged. Check your own lodgement date and any later changes to the application with a registered migration agent.

I hold a Student visa now. Can I apply for another one in Australia?

From 2 October 2026 most Student visa holders must apply for a further Student visa from outside Australia, and be offshore when it is granted, unless they fall into an exempt class such as doctoral students, provider default, up to 12 more months with the same provider, or a move up the qualification level. Home Affairs lists the exemptions.

Can my partner or child still join my existing student visa later?

Home Affairs says current Student visa holders can no longer add family members as subsequent entrants after the visa has been granted, and that there are no exemptions to this rule. Family members already in Australia on a secondary Student visa, or whose application was lodged before 2 October 2026, are treated differently under the regulations.

I already have a second working holiday visa. Does the ballot affect me?

No ballot has been made into law and no transitional rule has been published. The sources found say nothing about people who already hold a granted second or third visa. The announcement concerns applications for the second and third years.

Do the Directions 121 and 122 apply to skilled visa applications I lodged before September?

Direction 122 states that it applies to provisional and permanent skilled visa applications made but not finally determined before commencement, as well as those made after. Some applications are excluded, including those remitted by the Administrative Review Tribunal. Read Direction 121 for the temporary skilled visas.

If I hold a visitor visa now, will it get a no further stay condition?

The Minister said the condition will have no impact on anybody who is already here, because it concerns future visas. Your grant notice lists the conditions on your visa. Whether and when the condition applies to new grants has not been confirmed in an instrument.

Where can I find out how a change applies to my case?

The Home Affairs website lists the current rules, and the legislative instruments are on the Federal Register of Legislation. For how a rule applies to a particular person, a MARA-registered migration agent can assess the case. This page is general information only.