Australian education is one of the best study destinations for international students across the globe.
The Australian student visa subclass visa is for international students seeking education in Australia. Recently the Australian government has revised their decisions because the education industry of Australia went stagnant because of visa delays and refusals. Now the good news is that from January 2025 the offshore student visas will be processed in a faster way. Student visa Subclass 500: The latest update brings hope for international students.
The Australian government has made the decision to revoke Ministerial Decision 107, which presents a positive development for international students pursuing higher education in Australia, a change that has been anticipated and welcomed by study visa consulting firms.
Ministerial Direction 107 has been revoked and replaced by Ministerial Direction 111.
The international education sector is important to Australia, and the Australian government is committed to ensuring its equality, quality, integrity, and sustainability.
MD107 has been revoked. Ministerial Direction 107 Order for considering and disposing of Student Guardian visa applications and offshore Subclass 500 (Student) visa applications (MD107) was designed to support providers with strong recruitment practices for international students and support the Department of Home Affairs at a time of increasing volumes and of risk in the caseload. The Australian Government acknowledges that the student visa processing arrangements in accordance with MD107 unevenly impacted education providers.
MD107 was revoked on 18 December 2024. New Ministerial Direction 111 Ministerial Direction 111 Order for considering and disposing of offshore Subclass 500 (Student) visa applications (MD111) came into effect on 19 December 2024, replacing MD107. MD111 applies to on-hand, unfinalized student visa applications lodged from offshore, as well as those lodged on or after that date, and sets out priority categories for processing student visa applications.
Under MD111, priority processing (Priority 1—High) will apply to offshore student visa applications associated with a provider in the higher education and vocational education and training sectors who have not yet reached their prioritization threshold as indicated by PRISMS, the Department of Education’s system that manages enrollment information. Once the prioritization threshold has been reached for a provider, visa processing will continue at Priority 2—standard priority.
This new approach creates a more even approach to visa processing across a range of different provider types and locations, including for regional and small providers. MD111 will continue to support the well-managed and orderly processing of visa applications that supports the education sector equitably while achieving the government’s wider international education objectives.
Priority 1—High will move faster through processing relative to Priority 2—Standard. MD111 is not a cap, nor does it set the criteria to approve or refuse a student visa application. As always, the department will continue to prioritize the offshore student visa caseload as we move into Semester 1 2025, while the onshore caseload will also continue to be processed. What is most important is that intending students lodge their visa applications as early as possible and complete them with all requested information at the time of lodgement to support smooth processing.
The development of MD111 and its prioritization approach has been informed by consultation with the international education sector undertaken by the Department of Education and the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations throughout 2024. The Department of Home Affairs, the Department of Education, and the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations are working with the education sector to provide information about this new processing arrangement for student visas. This will include targeted engagement through webinars, discussions with peak bodies in the education sector, as well as our website updates and social media outreach.
So who is eligible for ‘Priority 1—High’ visa processing?
In brief, Priority 1—High processing will apply to student visa applications associated with providers who have not yet reached their prioritization threshold, which is 80 percent of their 2025 indicative allocation of new overseas student commencements in the higher education and vocational education and training sectors (VETs).
Indicative allocations for both higher education and vocational education and training providers can be found at Indicative allocations for higher education new overseas student commencements 2025 – Department of Education, Australian Government and Indicative allocations for VET new overseas student commencements 2025 – Department of Employment and Workplace Relations, Australian Government.
Priority 1—High visa processing will also apply to a range of sectors and student types, for example, the schools and higher degree by research sectors, as well as scholarship and TAFE students, and those from the Pacific and Timor-Leste.
Priority 2: Standard visa processing will apply to providers who have reached their prioritization threshold, subsequent entrants, and any other offshore student visa application.
Credit: Source Department of Home Affairs Australia
https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-listing/student-500
Decision in force: 19th December 2025
