Australia's Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke announced Thursday that most international students will no longer be able to bring a partner or children with them on their student visa, as part of a broader plan to cut net overseas migration.
This change targets to the secondary family member visa that partners and children of students currently travel on , not the number of student visas issued but for Nepali students who plan to bring a spouse or family along, it removes an option that has long been part of the appeal of studying in Australia.
Burke announced the policy in a National Press Club address in Canberra titled "The work of managing the migration program: Who arrives, who stays, who leaves." The government aims to bring net overseas migration down from roughly 300,000 a year to 225,000 by 2028, and student dependants are one piece of that plan. Because the change will be implemented through regulation rather than new legislation, it can take effect faster than a law requiring a parliamentary vote though as of the announcement, no start date has been set.
Currently, under the Subclass 500 student visa, a member of the family unit a legally married spouse or de facto partner, plus dependent children can be included either at the time of the original application or later. Partners' work rights are governed separately, under visa condition 8104.
Whether the new restriction will apply only to new applications, or also to students who already hold a linked dependant visa, has not yet been clarified.
The announcement lands on top of an already tough year for Nepali applicants: Australia's student visa refusal rate for Nepal reached 51-64% in 2025-26, the highest on record, after Nepal was moved to the strictest "Level 3" risk category in January.
Why it matters: Many Nepali students plan around bringing a spouse for companionship and because a partner's income often helps cover study costs. Losing that option, even without a confirmed date, could reshape decisions being made right now about studying in Australia.
