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Vietnamese students: changing courses in Australia is about to get harder

Visa guide · 2026-10-06 · 3 min read

Many Vietnamese families plan study in Australia with great care. So it helps to know that the Australian Government announced new rules on 2 October 2026. The rules are about students who move from one course to another. They are also about advisers who help with weak or dishonest applications.

Changing courses will be harder

Here are the main points, in simple words.

• A student who wants to change to a different course must apply for a separate visa.
• Before this new system starts, a student cannot change course in the first 12 months of a course.
• From 1 July 2027, the government will not extend a student visa because the student is moving to a different course.

There is an earlier rule too. Students cannot move to a lower-level course, for example from a bachelor's or master's degree to a vocational program. The government wants to stop people from staying for years by moving from one visa to the next. It is making these changes through rules, not through a new law.

The bigger plan

These steps are part of a larger plan. The government wants to lower net overseas migration. This means the number of people arriving to stay, minus the number leaving. It is almost 300,000 a year now. The target is 225,000 by 2028.

The government also pointed to bridging visas. A bridging visa is a temporary visa. A person can get it while they wait for a decision on their next visa application. More than 400,000 people now hold one. Many are international students who applied for a different visa. The government wants this number to come down.

What this means for you

Choose your course with care before you leave Vietnam. Ask yourself if the course matches your goal. Think about this before you pay anything, because a later change may need a new visa.

Prepare your documents early. Visa rules often ask for certified English translations of Vietnamese documents, such as degrees and school records. If you need an English test, such as IELTS or PTE, give yourself time to prepare. If a police certificate is requested, for Vietnamese citizens this is usually the Judicial Record Certificate No. 2 (Phiếu lý lịch tư pháp số 2).

Take care with advice

The government also wants to stop bad advice. It is proposing that migration agents must not help with an application when they know, or should know, that it has no real factual or legal basis. A proposal is not yet a rule. The Department of Home Affairs will also ask for views on how migration lawyers can be held to account for similar bad practice.

The government said a small number of bad actors cause the harm. They look for people at hard moments in life. They use misleading claims, false promises and unrealistic assurances. Examples included applications sent only so that they would be refused and appealed. Another example was online advertising that coached people to make false protection claims.

You can protect yourself. Deal only with licensed organisations and real education providers. Never pay an unlicensed broker. Be careful with anyone who asks for money upfront to secure a place or a visa. Be careful too with anyone who promises a result.

A calm next step

Read the official rules on the Department of Home Affairs website. Make one clear plan, and ask questions when something is not clear. You can do this step by step.

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