On 26 October 2026, the Hon Dr Peter Hendy wrote to the Prime Minister, the Hon Anthony Albanese MP, regarding the impacts of changes to the Student (Subclass 500) visa program that commenced on 2 October 2026.
IHEA is particularly concerned about the retrospective impact of certain changes on potentially thousands of international students already studying in Australia. Specifically, students who lawfully transferred education providers before 2 October that are no longer eligible for the onshore course completion exemption and may therefore need to leave Australia to apply for a further Student visa to complete their studies, even where they only require a short extension to graduate. This has the potential to impact thousands of international students.
Dr Hendy requested an urgent meeting with the Prime Minister to discuss practical solutions to address these impacts.
Stay informed
Our IHEA News keeps you up to date with the latest higher education information, policies, comments and IHEA submissions.