Student visa family members: what changed on 2 October 2026

Status in one place

- In force since 2 October 2026: a secondary applicant (partner or child) may apply for a Student visa only in listed cases.
- In force since 2 October 2026: no subsequent entrants. A Student visa holder cannot add family members after the visa is granted.
- In force: applications lodged before 2 October 2026 keep the old rules, including those that included family members.
- Announced 17 September 2026, no law yet: the same restriction for the Temporary Graduate (485) visa.

The legal vehicles are the Migration Amendment (Student Visa Reform) Regulations 2026 (F2026L01347) and the LIN 26/087 instrument (F2026L01349). Both were made on 1 October 2026 and started on 2 October 2026.

What the Minister announced

In his National Press Club speech on 17 September 2026, Tony Burke said: “for international students, we will no longer be allowing the attaching of family members for international students or for graduate visas. 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 added: “we will no longer be adding to the stock of students automatically being able to bring family members over. We have special visa conditions which will still allow it for the Pacific and for the ASEAN nations, and for certain courses, for example, PhD courses, they'll be able to bring family.”

The media release the same day used shorter wording: “restricting secondary applicants on most student visas”.

Asked in an interview whether skilled workers' families would be treated the same way, the Minister said the decision was about students. The reasons he gave in interviews were housing: students with families move out of student accommodation and into the general housing market. That is the Minister's stated reasoning, not a finding of the regulations.

What the regulations say

The new rule is in item 1222 of Schedule 1 to the Migration Regulations. A secondary applicant for a Student visa may apply “only if” one of the following is true:

- The primary applicant is a Defence student, a Foreign Affairs student, or holds a passport from a Pacific regional country or from a country listed in the regulations (the ASEAN list).
- The secondary applicant is already in Australia and, when the rules started, held a Student visa as a secondary applicant, or had applied for one and was later granted it.
- The applicant is a child born in Australia on or after 2 October 2026 to a primary student who held, or had applied for, a Student visa at that date.
- The applicant is in a class of persons specified in an instrument.

Secondary applicants must apply at the same time and place as the primary applicant. The explanatory statement says the effect is that a Student visa cannot add family members to an existing visa through a subsequent entrant application. Home Affairs is more direct: “Your family members cannot apply as a subsequent entrant (at a later time, separate from your application) in any circumstance.” Its fact sheet says: “Current Student visa holders can no longer add family members (subsequent entrants) after their Student visa has been granted. There are no exemptions to this rule.”

A child born in Australia is taken, under section 78 of the Migration Act, to hold a visa of the same kind and conditions as their parents at birth, according to the explanatory statement.

The exempt groups, as Home Affairs lists them

Home Affairs lists the following as eligible to include family:

- PhD students. Home Affairs states that the exemption does not apply to a Master's by Research course.
- Students sponsored by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade or by Defence.
- Foreign government scholarship recipients. LIN 26/087 refers to students whose courses are “fully funded by a foreign government”. Home Affairs describes a scholarship that fully funds studies in Australia.
- Eligible students from Pacific Island countries and ASEAN member countries. Home Affairs lists the Pacific countries as the Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Marshall Islands, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. It lists the ASEAN countries as Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Vietnam.

The Pacific and ASEAN test in the regulations is about the primary applicant's passport, not about where the family lives.

LIN 26/087 also contains exemptions for families already on a Student visa as secondary applicants. Where the primary student is affected by provider default, or is finishing within the 12-month extension for completing studies, the family already on a secondary Student visa can apply for a further visa. Whether a particular family falls within one of these groups depends on dates, passports and course details, and is a question for a registered agent.

Who is not affected

- Applications lodged before 2 October 2026. Home Affairs: “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.” The regulations apply to applications made on or after the start date.
- Families already in Australia on a Student visa. The speech says families already here will not be broken up. The regulations provide an onshore route for secondary holders who held, or had applied for, the visa at the start date.
- Babies born in Australia to a student who held or had applied for a Student visa at the start date.
- Skilled visa holders. The Minister said family rights for skilled workers are deliberately unchanged. The Student Visa Reform Regulations amend the Student visa only.
- Temporary Graduate (485) visa holders and applicants. The restriction on 485 family members is announced but is not law as at 12 October 2026.

One more point. A person who holds a Student visa as a secondary holder and wants a Student visa as a primary applicant must lodge from outside Australia and be outside Australia when it is granted. Home Affairs says “There are no exemptions to this rule.”

Where the speech and the law differ

The speech said family would still be possible “for certain courses, for example, PhD courses”. The law is narrower and more specific: doctoral degrees, DFAT or Defence sponsorship, fully funded foreign government scholarships, and Pacific or ASEAN passport holders. A Master's by Research course is not covered, according to Home Affairs. Where the two differ, this page follows the instruments and the Home Affairs pages.

Some commentary on the web treats the 500 and 485 family limits as both in force. The 485 limit is not. The official Temporary Graduate pages still describe family inclusion and subsequent entrants. See 485-graduate-visa-family-changes-2026.

Costs and planning pages on this site

Several guides on this site describe the Student visa with a partner and children, including the extra funds and fees for each person. Those descriptions were written for the old rules. For applications made on or after 2 October 2026, the first question is now whether the application falls within an exempt group at all. Fees and financial capacity figures in other pages are not changed by the regulations, but they apply only if family members can be included.

Related reading: student-dependent-visa-australia, bringing-partner-children-student-visa-australia, proof-of-funds-for-student-visa-500, oshc-for-couples-and-families.

What is not decided yet, and what to watch

Dated as at 12 October 2026.

- The 485 family restriction. No start date, no exemptions and no instrument have been published. The Minister's speech is the only primary statement.
- Whether the regulations will be changed in Parliament. They are disallowable. No disallowance motion was found.
- Compilation. A compiled version of the Migration Regulations including these changes had not been published when this page was written.
- A drafting detail. Some sections of LIN 26/087 cite subparagraph 1222(3)(d)(vi), while the amended regulations place the power at 1222(3)(da)(vi). Watch for a correction.
- Home Affairs wording. Its family pages were last updated on 7 October 2026.

This page will be updated when any of this changes. General information only. Whether any of this applies to your case is a question for a MARA-registered migration agent, who can assess your circumstances.

Can I bring my partner and children on a Student visa now?

Only in listed cases. Since 2 October 2026 a Student visa applicant can include family if they are a doctoral student, a Defence or Foreign Affairs student, a fully funded foreign government scholarship recipient, or hold a passport from a Pacific or ASEAN country. Other applicants cannot. A registered agent can check a particular case.

Can I add my family to my Student visa after it is granted?

No. Home Affairs states that family members cannot apply as a subsequent entrant in any circumstance, and its fact sheet says there are no exemptions to this rule.

Which countries count as Pacific and ASEAN?

Home Affairs lists the Pacific countries as the Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Marshall Islands, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu, and ASEAN as Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Vietnam.

I already have my family on my Student visa in Australia. Are they affected?

The Minister said families already here would not be broken up, and the regulations include an onshore route for secondary holders who held, or had applied for, the visa when the rules started. Applications lodged before 2 October 2026 are assessed under the old rules.

Does the rule apply to Master's by Research students?

Home Affairs says the PhD exemption cannot be used for a Master's by Research course.

Does this apply to the Temporary Graduate (485) visa?

Not yet. The Minister said family attachment would also stop for graduate visas, but no law or start date had been published as at 12 October 2026, and Home Affairs' 485 pages still describe family inclusion.

What about a baby born in Australia after 2 October 2026?

The regulations include a route for a child born in Australia on or after 2 October 2026 to a primary student who held, or had applied for, a Student visa at that date. Under section 78 of the Migration Act, a child born in Australia is taken to hold a visa of the same kind and conditions as their parents.

Are skilled visa family members affected?

No. The Minister said the decision concerned students, and the regulations change only the Student visa. Skilled workers' family rights were not changed by this package.