Australia rolls out new visa rules for students

Australia has rolled out a major change to how international student visas are processed, introducing a new tier-based system that could affect the speed at which applications move.

- Education Desk

The rule, known as Ministerial Direction 115 (MD 115), came into effect today and replaces the earlier MD 111 directive.

Under the new system, visa processing speed is now directly linked to how well each university or college manages its approved enrollment cap, ity, and local services.

Australia has been working to stabilise its international education sector following months of high demand. Officials said that visa lodgements dropped by 26%, and new student commencements fell by 16% after recent policy changes. This drop gave the government room to shift to a more structured visa framework.