Australia's Ministerial Direction 115 Takes Effect November 14, Tiering Student Visa Processing by Provider Allocation
Australia's new Ministerial Direction 115 took effect on November 14, 2025, replacing Ministerial Direction 111. The direction is intended to support a more balanced distribution of international students across providers and to underpin the 2026 National Planning Level.
Under the new settings, offshore Subclass 500 student visa applications lodged on or after November 14, 2025 are processed in priority tiers based on each provider's use of its New Overseas Student Commencement allocation. Priority 1 covers schools, ELICOS, TAFE, PhD and sponsored students, and providers that have not reached 80% of their allocation. Priority 2 covers providers that have reached 80%, and Priority 3 covers providers that have exceeded their allocation, whose applications are processed later.
The Australian Government has set the 2026 National Planning Level at 295,000 new overseas student commencements.
Source: Australian Department of Home Affairs
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图中是悉尼大学的四方庭院建筑群。Toby Hudson, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
