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International Students Face Restrictions on Bringing Partners and Children
24 September 2026 8 min read
Most new international students will no longer be able to bring a partner or dependent children to Australia on their student visa, under changes announced by Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke on 17 September 2026. Some groups, reported to include students from Pacific and ASEAN countries and those in certain courses such as PhDs, will be exempt.[1][2]
The most important point for anyone currently planning to study in Australia: the change has been announced, but it has not yet been made, and no start date has been published.[3]
Student visa holders have long been able to include family members as secondary applicants, who could then live in Australia for the length of the course. Under the announced change, most new student visa applicants will lose that ability.[1][2]
The scale of the change is significant. Of the 337,427 student visas granted in the last financial year, 45,991 went to secondary applicants such as partners and children, roughly one in seven.[2]
The official list of exemptions has not yet been published, and reporting on it is not fully consistent. Coverage of the announcement itself describes these groups as exempt:[1][2]
Explaining the doctoral exemption, Burke said PhD students are at "a different stage of life from undergraduates."[2]
Other reporting, drawing on the education trade press, describes a somewhat different set: higher degree research students including research masters as well as doctoral candidates, recipients of government funded scholarships, and students from Pacific countries and Timor-Leste, without mention of ASEAN.[3] Until the regulation is published, treat any list of exemptions as indicative rather than settled, and do not rely on falling into an exempt group without confirming it.
There is no start date yet. Reporting indicates the change is expected to be made by regulation rather than by new legislation.[3] That matters, because a regulation does not need a vote in Parliament and can therefore take effect more quickly than a law.
Until the regulation is made, current rules apply. When it is made, the detail will decide much of the practical effect: exactly which applications it covers, how it treats students who applied before the start date, and how it deals with a family member applying to join a student who is already here.
The measure is part of a wider package aimed at bringing net overseas migration down to 245,000 in 2026-27 and 225,000 in following years. The government has also framed it as part of a crackdown on what it calls visa hopping.[1][2] Alongside it, students changing course will need a new visa, and graduates will only be able to move up to a higher level of qualification. Our overview of the full migration overhaul covers the other measures, including the working holiday caps.
Universities Australia warned that repeated policy changes create uncertainty for the sector, pointing out that international education contributed A$53.6 billion to the economy in the year to June 2025.[2] The concern for universities is less the individual change than the cumulative signal to prospective students deciding between Australia and competing destinations.
The government has said existing families will not be separated. What has not yet been confirmed is how the rules will treat a new visa application, for example if you change course or apply for a further student visa. Given that course changes will separately require a new visa, it is worth getting advice before making any change to your enrolment.
Until a start date is set, applications continue under the current rules. That creates an incentive to lodge sooner rather than later, but only where you are genuinely ready. A rushed, incomplete student visa application carries its own risk under the Genuine Student requirement, and a refusal would put you in a worse position than waiting.
Consider whether you fall into an exempt group, such as doctoral study or an eligible nationality. Otherwise, it may be worth looking at whether your partner could qualify for a visa in their own right. For those later moving from study into work, employer sponsored visas such as the Subclass 482 continue to allow family members to be included.
This is one of the more consequential student visa changes announced in recent years, affecting around one in seven student visa grants. The reported exemptions, particularly for doctoral students and Pacific nationals, are meaningful, and the promise not to separate existing families gives some reassurance. The detail that will decide most outcomes, the regulation itself, has not yet been published, and until it is, current rules continue to apply.
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This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. The change described has been announced but not yet made, and its final terms may differ. For advice on your circumstances, contact our team.