Following the government’s most recent migration plan, Australia’s Home Affairs Department has formalized a new framework for processing student visas based on the risk level of institutions.
On December 14, Minister of Home Affairs Clare O’Neill signed an order directing immigration officers to give priority to visa applications from foreign students hoping to study in Australia according to provider risk.
It adheres to Australia’s promise to “apply greater and more targeted scrutiny” to student visa applications from universities that pose a risk, as stated in the country’s new migration strategy. The directive states that managing student applications “in an orderly fashion” is necessary due to “high levels of demand.”
Immigration will use the evidence level (1, 2, or 3) assigned to each CRICOS-registered education provider to determine which applications should be processed first, with level 1 providers receiving expedited processing.
“Higher risk providers will experience slower processing times as visa decision makers consider the integrity of a provider, as well as the individual student applicants,” the government stated in the migration strategy.
The directive went into effect in December ahead of the upcoming academic year, just as promised.
Applications from outside of Australia have been granted the highest priority among all student visa categories for:
- Applicants from the education, postgraduate research, and foreign affairs/defense sectors.
- Higher education, English language intensive course for overseas students (ELICOS), vocational education and training (VET), and non-award sector applicants studying at an education provider with an evidence level 1.
- Applications from later entrants submitted outside of Australia that include a family member under the age of eighteen who is single.It’s
- Applications for Student Guardian visas submitted in Australia or abroad.
The DHA lists the following as evidence-level indicators: refusals of visas, overstaying of a visa, and cancellations of visas. Student visas are associated with the school that a new immigrant first enrolls in. In early 2024, more information about the government’s plans to introduce a new Genuine Student Test is anticipated.