Published when an authority changes a fee, allocation or occupation list. Each entry names the source, the date it changed and what moved.
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Grant rates, fee changes and official program changes, with the source and the reporting period for each.
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The MARA register is the official list of every legally registered migration agent in Australia. This article explains what it contains, how to read it, and what to do if someone isn't listed.
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Training.gov.au lists every RTO in Australia with its registration status and end date. International students also need to check CRICOS — these are two separate registers, and both matter.
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When a migration rule changes, the amount of notice you get is not fixed. Some changes take effect the same day they are published. Others name a date weeks away. This shows three real examples from the Federal Register of Legislation, with their numbers, so the difference is visible. It reports what the Register records. It is not advice.
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What the Department of Home Affairs publishes about the Genuine Student requirement: when it started, the questions the application form asks, and the factors the Department says it considers. This reports the published requirement. It is not application preparation and it is not advice.
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The Core Skills Occupation List used for the Skills in Demand visa was made in December 2024. As at 31 August 2026 that instrument is still in force on the Federal Register of Legislation. Jobs and Skills Australia ran a review in 2025, and its own published process shows the final step has not been reached. This reports what the Register and JSA publish. It is not advice.
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Counted from the Home Affairs dataset: offshore Higher Education grant rates by month from November 2025 to June 2026, and by country for March 2026, with the number of decisions behind every percentage.
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Australia updated its occupation code system in 2022, so if you are tracking a target job for a study-to-work pathway, check whether your occupation code has changed.
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The Core Skills Occupation List sets which occupations are eligible for Australia's Skills in Demand visa. It does not establish which specific education course leads to a listed occupation; that mapping is not published by any Australian authority.
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Which countries saw the biggest changes in student visa grant rates between March and May 2026 — useful if your country's approval rate shifted significantly in that period.
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May 2026 grant rates by study sector (ELICOS, VET, Higher Ed) show which sectors had the highest and lowest offshore approval rates — useful when choosing what to study.
Policy shifts, allocation data, sector trends, and analysis for professionals working in Australian international education.
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The 2027 limit for new overseas student starts is 295,000, unchanged from 2026. The published VET provider allocations add up to 90,887 across 934 providers.
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Two new government directions changed the order in which skilled visa applications are processed from 19 September 2026. They apply to skilled visas, not to student visas.
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Three countries made up half of all offshore student visa decisions at the start of 2026-27, and their grant rates were very different.
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A new interim rule makes most non-school international students wait 12 months before changing provider. A new visa pathway for transfers is announced for July 2027 but is not law yet.
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In the first two months of the 2026-27 financial year, about 71 in 100 student visa decisions were grants. Rates differed widely by sector and by whether the applicant was in Australia or overseas.
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The government has stopped one vocational course from being used for new international student visas. This records the official notice and what the course register shows for providers who taught it.
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Bhutan's offshore student visa approval rate dropped nearly 25 points in the March to May 2026 window. Bhutan was the 5th largest offshore market by volume and the 4th steepest fall by points.
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More than half of all occupations on the Core Skills Occupation List are classified as Professionals. Technicians and Trades Workers account for a further 31%. Two entire ANZSCO major groups have no occupations on the list at all.
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In May 2026, ELICOS was the only major study sector where offshore student visa grant rates went up. Higher Education and VET both fell offshore in the same month.
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Kenya's offshore student visa grant rate fell 25.6 points to 30.6% of 1,808 decided applications in the March to May 2026 window, the lowest offshore rate in the top-20 group. Its onshore rate rose to 81.6% of 938 lodgements, producing a 51.0-point gap between offshore and onshore outcomes.
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Nepal's offshore student visa grant rate was 34.6% of 6,298 decided applications in the March to May 2026 window, the second lowest among the 20 highest-volume nationalities. India and Bangladesh, both larger markets, returned rates above 48% in the same period.
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The Philippines offshore student visa grant rate fell 26.4 points to 39.2% of 1,315 decided applications in March to May 2026, from 65.7% in the prior window. It was the third steepest offshore decline by points among the top 20 nationalities.
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Sri Lanka's offshore student visa approval rate dropped sharply in March to May 2026, placing it among the nationalities with the steepest falls in the window.
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In May 2026, VET was the only major study sector where more student visa applications were decided onshore than offshore, with onshore outnumbering offshore by more than three to one.
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Vietnam's offshore student visa approval rate rose significantly between March and May 2026, making it unusual among high-volume markets where most rates fell.
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Zimbabwe recorded the steepest offshore student visa grant rate decline in the March to May 2026 window at 46.3 points, falling from 89.4% to 43.2% across 139 decided applications. Low volume means the rate carries higher uncertainty than for large markets.
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Ministerial Direction 119 sets the order Home Affairs processes skilled nomination and visa applications, ranked by occupation and by whether the applicant is onshore or offshore. It does not cover student visas.
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The government has set annual caps on how many new international students each private VET college can enrol, which may affect visa processing speed for students choosing certain providers.
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Tasmania opened 2,050 skilled nomination places for 2026-27 with weekly rounds — relevant for graduates considering Tasmania as a post-study state nomination pathway.
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The government held the 2027 international student intake cap at 295,000 with no increase, meaning competition for places at popular institutions stays intense next year.
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Historical 2025-26 state and territory nomination place numbers for the 190 and 491 skilled visas, as published by the Department of Home Affairs. The 2025-26 program year has ended; current allocations are set separately for 2026-27.
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