Australia’s New Visa Rules for International Students (2025)

1. Visa Application Fee Increase — From 1 July 2025, the Subclass 500 student visa application fee is **AUD 2,000**, up from AUD 1,600. This fee is non-refundable. 
2. Mandatory Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE) — As of mid-2025, you must have a valid CoE before lodging your visa application. Offer letters or provisional admission documents alone are no longer sufficient. Applies both to onshore and offshore applicants. 
3. No Onshore Switching of Visa Type — Students (and some temporary visa holders, including subclass 485 visa holders or visitor visa holders) cannot apply for a student visa from within Australia; they must apply from outside the country. 
4. Increased Financial Requirements — Applicants must now demonstrate access to at least **AUD 29,710** for one year’s living expenses (up from earlier lower amounts). This is to ensure students can support themselves while studying.
5. Enrollment Cap / National Planning Level — New enrolment caps have been introduced. For 2025, about **270,000 new international student commencements** are permitted annually across sectors. 
6. Sectors & Institutional Allocations — The cap is split roughly among public universities, private/non-university higher education, and vocational education (VET). For example: ~145,000 places for public universities, ~95,000 for VET providers, ~30,000 for private institutions. 
7. Priority Processing via Ministerial Direction 111 — The government replaced the older MD 107 with **Ministerial Direction 111**, which adjusts how student visa applications are processed, introducing priorities (such as for certain institutions or offshore applications), especially when providers near their cap. 
8. Stricter “Genuine Student” Requirement — Also replacing the “Genuine Temporary Entrant” criterion, the Genuine Student requirement (in force since March 2024) evaluates whether applicants genuinely intend to study and contributes after graduation.