Study in Australia: What’s changing for international students from 2026?

The Australian government is planning further changes for the international education sector, starting from 2026. It has already raised the cap on international students to 2.95 lakh; it will issue an updated ministerial direction to enforce it; and it has hinted that it will amend the Education Services for Overseas Students (ESOS) Act in 2025-26, in a recent statement.

The “National Planning Level” (NPL) cap, 2.7 lakh for this year, was implemented in January, 2025, replacing permission to institutions to admit an unlimited number of international students. The revised cap is still 8% lower than the post-Covid peaks.

Given the 25,000 more students being allowed in, no university will lose places compared to 2025, says the government statement, and public universities can increase intake if they increase engagement with Southeast Asia and provide safe, affordable student housing.

“International education is an incredibly important export industry for Australia but we need to manage its growth so it’s sustainable,” said education minister Jason Clare. From 2027, the “long-term oversight” of the sector will be the responsibility of the planned Australian Tertiary Education Commission.

There will also be changes in the law governing international education in Australia. There will be “amendments to the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 to strengthen integrity in the international education sector, combat the exploitation of overseas students, and address behaviours which seek to exploit the migration system”, says Australian Government’s policy document, Building a Better and Fairer Education System.

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Australia visa and VETs

Indian students form one of the largest cohorts of international students in Australia, with more than 1,39,000 enrolled by the end of 2024 and visa approvals for early 2025 surpassing those for Chinese students.

The Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector is regulated differently. The government will manage it through visa-processing rules; there won’t be any cap on the numbers. The number of Indians going for VET had grown sharply to 85,844 in 2022-23, according to Australian government data on student visas granted. That count fell to 43,755 in 2023-24 and 41,700 in 2024-25 to June 2025. This data represents primary applicants only.

From July 1, 2024, Australia stopped “visa hopping ” – the practice of moving from one type of visa to another while within the country.

“The settings that the Government has put in place for 2026 will ensure that the international VET sector can grow sustainably to better meet skills needs, in Australia and the region,” said Andrew Giles, minister for skills and training, adding, “The diverse nationalities of international VET students present an opportunity to strengthen our international partnerships. From today, VET providers can plan recruitment with confidence for 2026, knowing they will continue to enjoy equitable access to student visa processing.”