In September 2026, Australia’s Minister for Immigration Tony Burke announced a wave of changes at once: a ban on students bringing partners and children, new processing priorities for the 482 work visa under Directions 121 and 122, and tighter limits on tourist visas.
In short
- Students can no longer bring partners and children, except for PhD applicants and students from Pacific region countries.
- The Temporary Graduate visa (485) is also caught by the ban: a partner and children won’t get a visa when transitioning from a student visa.
- The tourist visa has been cut to 6 months, and condition 8503 has closed off switching to a work visa while staying in the country.
- Direction 121 splits the 482 visa into five priorities: from 2 weeks for in-demand occupations to December 2025 for standalone applications from overseas.
- Direction 122, covering visas 186, 189, 190, and others, puts applicants with a family and children last, in the fourth priority tier.
What has changed in Australia’s migration policy in the last few days
The immigration minister had planned a press conference a month earlier, but it was cancelled the day before — according to leaks, some provisions clashed with human rights protections and hadn’t been finalised. Over the last 4 days, migration policy has seen more changes than in the previous year or two combined, touching nearly every category of applicant.
Over the last 4 days, migration policy has seen more changes than in the previous year or two combined, touching nearly every category of applicant.
The skilled migration program was adjusted several times within just a few days, with conditions shifting back and forth. As of publication, part of the framework remains officially unconfirmed, which is why international students and work visa applicants are scrambling to find out whether the new rules have actually taken effect.
Ban on bringing partners and children for international students
International students will no longer be able to bring partners and children to Australia — Immigration Minister Tony Burke confirmed this after announcing the changes. The rule applies to new applicants: those whose partner or children are already attached to a visa and already in the country will not have their family split up — their status stays intact until they leave Australia or become eligible for a permanent visa.
There are two exceptions to the ban. The first covers students from Pacific region countries that have separate agreements with Australia: special visa conditions there still allow family members to accompany the applicant. The second covers those enrolling in PhD programs.
Master’s degrees and other education levels remain less clear. At a press conference the day after Burke’s announcement, he was asked about applicants aged 30–40 with families applying for research programs and master’s degrees. The answer was only unambiguous in one direction: Australia does not want to see families with children coming in on bachelor’s degree enrolments. PhDs are fine, master’s programs are “probably fine too,” but the status of master’s coursework programs, as well as diplomas and certificates above bachelor’s level, was left unexplained.
Australia does not want to see families with children coming in on bachelor’s degree enrolments.
Also unclear is the fate of students already studying at bachelor’s level with a partner and children on a student visa. A separate problem concerns the Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485): the new rules banning partners and children apply to it as well. This means that when transitioning from a student visa to a 485 visa, the visa is granted only to the primary applicant, while the partner and children would have to return to their home country. This point also remains unresolved — there is no official clarification yet.
The ban on partners and children also applies to the Temporary Graduate visa (485): when transitioning from a student visa, the family may end up without a visa, and there’s no official clarification on this point yet.
Research visas and age restrictions on bachelor’s degrees
Research program visas see fewer refusals and a higher acceptable age than other student pathways — there is no official age limit set for research visas. These visas also come with real advantages: full work rights for both the primary applicant and the partner, plus free schooling for the applicant’s children in public schools.
For bachelor’s degree programs, the situation is the opposite. Refusals for applicants over 30 have risen over the past year — officers are wary of the combination of an older age with existing higher education credentials when the applicant is enrolling specifically in a bachelor’s program: it’s unclear why someone with a substantial educational background would need to start at the entry level of higher education.
A separate ambiguity concerns packaged programs, where a master’s degree (including a research master’s) is combined with English language courses: there’s still no clarification on whether the English courses can be taken before the main program or only after it.
Applicants over 30 who already hold a higher education qualification now face noticeably more difficulty getting a student visa specifically for bachelor’s degree programs.
Restrictions on tourist visas
The maximum stay on a tourist visa has been cut to 6 months. The restriction comes together with condition 8503: with this notation, staying in Australia beyond the set period isn’t allowed, and applying for another visa without leaving the country isn’t allowed either.
The one exception is humanitarian programs: switching status from a tourist visa is still possible in those cases. But arranging such an application requires the help of a migration professional rather than filling out the form on your own.
Condition 8503 also closed off another route: previously, an applicant could arrive in Australia as a tourist, find an employer, and lodge a work visa application while already in the country — which gave priority over applying from abroad. That path no longer works: with the 8503 notation, you cannot change status while in the country even if you have an employer — you’ll have to leave and lodge the work visa application from overseas.
That path no longer works: with the 8503 notation, you cannot change status while in the country even if you have an employer — you’ll have to leave and lodge the work visa application from overseas.
Condition 8503 on tourist visas now blocks changing status within the country even if you have an employer — the work visa will need to be lodged from overseas instead.
Five priorities for the 482 work visa under Direction 121
Ministerial Direction 121 applies only to the subclass 482 work visa and sets five processing priorities for it.
- Priority one — healthcare, education, agriculture, aquaculture, fisheries, police, defence, and related occupations. This rule applies both to applicants already in Australia and to those applying from overseas. Applications in these fields are processed faster than the rest — typically within two weeks.
- Priority two — specialists whose employer is willing to pay at least USD 146,576 a year: executives, engineers, and other skilled technical occupations from a specific list. Not every employer can offer such a salary, so this condition is worth confirming with a migration agent. When the salary threshold is met, the application takes roughly a month to a month and a half to process.
- Priority three — all other occupations for applicants already in Australia.
- Priority four — applications lodged from overseas, including from Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine. This category also includes an applicant who lodges alone: if they have a family and children but do not include them in the application and state an intention to travel alone, they are moved into this category. Processing under priority four is projected for around December 2025.
- Priority five — all remaining applications. Processing for these is projected for August–September 2025.
The timeframes for priorities four and five are a forecast made at the time the changes were announced, not a guaranteed date — such timeframes regularly slip further out.
Five processing priorities for the 482 visa under Direction 121
Processing speed depends on the priority tier the application falls into
- Priority 1 — healthcare, education, agriculture, and other listed fieldsabout 2 weeks
- Priority 2 — salary from USD 146,576 a year1–1.5 months
- Priority 3 — other occupations, applicants already in Australiano set timeframe
- Priority 4 — applications from overseas, including Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Ukraineexpected around December 2025forecast, subject to change
- Priority 5 — all other applicationsAugust–September 2025forecast, subject to change
How Direction 122 differs from Direction 121
Ministerial Direction 122 governs visa subclasses 186, 187, 189, 190, 191, 489, 491, 494, and 887. Unlike Direction 121, which applies only to the 482 work visa, this instrument covers a much broader set of permanent and temporary residence visas.
The priority structure under Direction 122 is shorter — just four tiers instead of five. The key difference: there is no separate priority for high salaries here. Priority two goes to all other applicants already in Australia — without carving out high earners into their own category.
Priority three covers single applicants applying from overseas across all in-demand occupations. Priority four, the last tier, covers those applying together with a family and children — such applications are processed last.
Direction 121 versus Direction 122
| Criterion | Direction 121 | Direction 122 |
|---|---|---|
| Visas covered | Only the 482 visa | Visas 186, 187, 189, 190, 191, 489, 491, 494, 887 |
| Number of priorities | 5 | 4 |
| High-salary priority | Yes, a separate tier | None |
| Applicants in Australia without a salary carve-out | Priority three | Priority two |
| Standalone applicants from overseas | Priority four | Priority three |
| Applicants with a family and children | Not carved out separately | Last, priority four |
Data reflects the article’s text as of the announcement of the changes.
What matters when applying during the transition period
No official effective date for the changes is given in the source material — the window to apply under the old rules could close sooner than it appears. The migration department does not take an applicant’s personal circumstances into account: delayed plans, unfinished business, or other life reasons do not justify a late application. Official criteria are applied uniformly, so an applicant’s personal circumstances rarely become grounds for an exception.
There’s no official effective date for the changes, and the window to apply under the old rules could close sooner than expected — personal circumstances are not accepted as grounds for delay.
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