Australian immigration changes 2026–27
Every change to the visa rules since 1 July 2026 that matters to the people and employers we act for: the date it started, who it affects, and the Home Affairs source. Checked 8 November 2026.
8 changes since 1 July 20268 Nov 2026 last checked12 Nov 2026 next change starts
Every change, newest first
The date is the day the change took effect. Each entry links to the Department's own page or the Ministerial Direction, and to our guide where we have one.
Upcoming
Training visa (407) applications must be made outside Australia
From 12 November 2026 you must be outside Australia when you apply for a Training visa (subclass 407) and when it is granted. An application made in Australia on or after that date is invalid, even if ImmiAccount lets you submit it. Applications lodged before 12 November are assessed under the rules in place when they were lodged.
No Bridging visa B for Protection visa applicants
From 1 November 2026, Protection visa (subclass 866) applicants can no longer apply for a Bridging visa B to travel overseas and return to Australia. Bridging visa B applications lodged before 1 November are still processed. If you already hold a Bridging visa B and its travel period has ended, you cannot apply for another one or ask for further travel.
Direction 123 replaces Direction 110 for character decisions
Ministerial Direction No. 123 commenced on 31 October 2026 and revoked Direction 110, which had applied since 21 June 2024. It sets out what decision-makers must weigh when deciding whether to refuse or cancel a visa on character grounds, where the applicant or visa holder has criminal charges or convictions.
Student visa: holders of 17 visas must now apply offshore
Holders of 17 temporary visas, including the Working Holiday (417), Work and Holiday (462), Temporary Graduate (485), both 482 streams and the visitor visas, must now apply for a Student visa (subclass 500) from outside Australia and be outside Australia when it is granted. Most current students can no longer apply for a further Student visa in Australia, and most applicants can no longer include a partner or children. Applications lodged before 2 October are assessed under the old rules.
No card surcharge on visa payments
From 1 October 2026 Home Affairs stopped applying surcharges to card, PayPal and UnionPay payments, following the Reserve Bank's review of card surcharging. The application charges themselves did not change.
Directions 121 and 122 set a new processing order for skilled visas
Ministerial Directions 121 and 122 came into force on 19 September 2026 and replaced Direction 119, which had applied from 25 July. Direction 121 covers the Skills in Demand (482) visa. Direction 122 covers the 186, 187, 189, 190, 191, 489, 491, 494, 887 and 888. The occupation now counts before where the applicant was when they applied, and both Directions apply to applications already lodged.
Direction 117 puts onshore family visa applications first
Ministerial Direction 117 replaced Direction 102 on 25 July 2026. Family visa applications made in Australia, for a visa that can be granted in Australia, now have priority over applications made outside Australia or that must be granted outside Australia. Within each group, partner and dependent child applications come before the parent, carer and other family visas.
Income thresholds indexed: Core Skills $79,423, Specialist Skills $146,576
For nominations lodged from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027, the Core Skills Income Threshold is $79,423 and the Specialist Skills Income Threshold is $146,576. The Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold, which applies to the 494, is also $79,423. The threshold that counts is the one in force on the day the employer lodges the nomination.
Visa application charges rise by about 25%
Most visa application charges rose by about 25% on 1 July 2026. A partner visa went from $9,365 to $11,710, a Skilled Independent (189) visa from $4,910 to $6,135 and a Student visa from $2,000 to $2,500. The charge that applies is the one in force on the day the Department receives your application.
Checked 8 November 2026 against the Department of Home Affairs pages and Ministerial Directions linked above. We review Home Affairs news and visa pages each weekday and add a change once it is confirmed at the source. The log is also available as data at /changes.json. This is general information, not advice: what applies to you depends on your visa, your dates and your circumstances.
Questions about the changes
What has changed in Australian immigration since 1 July 2026?
In date order: 1 July 2026, visa application charges rise by about 25%; 1 July 2026, income thresholds indexed: Core Skills $79,423, Specialist Skills $146,576; 25 July 2026, direction 117 puts onshore family visa applications first; 19 September 2026, directions 121 and 122 set a new processing order for skilled visas; 1 October 2026, no card surcharge on visa payments; 2 October 2026, student visa: holders of 17 visas must now apply offshore; 31 October 2026, direction 123 replaces Direction 110 for character decisions; 1 November 2026, no Bridging visa B for Protection visa applicants. Coming up: from 12 November 2026, training visa (407) applications must be made outside Australia. Each change is listed on the Visacorp changes page with who it affects and a link to the Department of Home Affairs source.
Does a rule change apply to a visa application I have already lodged?
It depends on the change. The Student visa changes of 2 October 2026, the Bridging visa B change of 1 November 2026 and the Training visa (407) change of 12 November 2026 do not apply to applications lodged before those dates. The processing-order Directions 117, 121 and 122 do apply to applications already lodged and not yet decided. The visa application charge is the one in force on the day the Department receives your application. A registered migration agent can check how a change affects your own application.
Where does the information in the changes log come from?
Every entry links to the Department of Home Affairs page or Ministerial Direction it is based on, checked on 8 November 2026. The log is general information about what changed and when, not migration advice for your circumstances.
Not sure how a change affects you?
A consultation with a registered migration agent checks your visa, your dates and your options against the rules in force today.