Three numbers on the Australian student visa for Indian students have moved sharply in the last two years, one rule changed in your favour, and one advantage applies to Indian students specifically and is barely mentioned anywhere. All of the following comes from Home Affairs, the Department of Education or Study Australia, read on 26 September 2026.
The subclass 500 visa fee, and why India pays the most
The subclass 500 application charge is now AUD 2,500 for the primary applicant.
| When | Charge |
|---|---|
| Until mid-2024 | AUD 710 |
| From 1 July 2024 | AUD 1,600 |
| From 1 July 2026 | AUD 2,500 |
Additional applicants cost AUD 1,530 if aged 18 or over and AUD 500 if under 18.
Here is the part that matters for an Indian family: there is a concession, and India is not on it. Primary applicants holding ASEAN passports, and Pacific Island or Timor-Leste passports, continue to pay the older charge plus inflation. Indian nationals pay the full AUD 2,500. It is not a large sum against the tuition, but it is worth knowing that the concession exists and does not apply to you, because several comparison pages quote the concession rate without saying who gets it.
The post-study visa charge rose on the same day, from AUD 4,600 to AUD 5,750.
Australia's financial capacity requirement for a student visa
For twelve months, evidenced at application:
| Who | Amount |
|---|---|
| Student | AUD 29,710 |
| Accompanying partner | AUD 10,394 |
| Each accompanying child | AUD 4,449 |
| School costs per school-age child | at least AUD 13,502 |
Plus twelve months of course fees and a travel allowance, AUD 2,000 from outside Australia.
The alternative route is income rather than savings: a parent's or partner's personal annual income of at least AUD 87,856, or AUD 102,500 if family members are included.
These figures rose on 10 May 2024, from AUD 24,505 for the student, and Home Affairs pegged them to 75 percent of the national minimum wage. They have not risen since, which is a useful contrast with Canada, where the equivalent figure moved again in September 2026.
The Genuine Student requirement, which changed in your favour
Applications lodged on or after 23 March 2024 are assessed under the Genuine Student requirement rather than the old Genuine Temporary Entrant test.
The substantive change is one sentence from Home Affairs, and it reverses years of coaching: the GS requirement "recognises that genuine students may develop skills Australia needs and may later choose to apply for permanent residence", and future intentions of that kind do not count against an applicant.
Under GTE, an applicant who looked like they might stay was a risk. Under GS, they are not. Anyone still advising you to write a statement swearing you will return to India immediately is working from the old test.
Practically: you answer it inside the online form, not as an attached essay, with a 150-word limit per question. The questions cover your current circumstances and ties, why this course and this provider and this country, and how the course helps you afterwards. Home Affairs states plainly that it gives more weight to statements supported by evidence, which means documents beat adjectives. Lining those 150-word answers up against the documents is part of what we do in college admissions counselling.
The Australia student visa English requirement, and two dates that matter
The student visa minimum rose from IELTS 5.5 to IELTS 6.0 on 23 March 2024. Then on 7 August 2025 the approved test list was rebuilt and the thresholds rescaled, which moved several tests in different directions:
| Test | Minimum | With 10+ weeks ELICOS | With 20+ weeks ELICOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| IELTS Academic | 6.0 | 5.5 | 5.0 |
| PTE Academic | 47 | 39 | 31 |
| TOEFL iBT | 67 | 51 | 37 |
PTE came down from 50 to 47 while TOEFL went up from 64 to 67. If you are choosing a test purely on the threshold, that reversal is worth knowing. CELPIP, LANGUAGECERT Academic and MET were added to the accepted list at the same time.
Two traps. Entirely online or at-home tests, including IELTS Online, are not accepted. And from 21 January 2026, TOEFL candidates must select "Taking TOEFL for Australia" when registering, or the score is not valid for the visa.
Several universities will take your board English instead of a test for admission, which is a separate question from the visa. We set out which Go8 universities accept board English, and the visa requirement still applies on top.
Working during the degree, and the Australia post study work visa for India
While studying: 48 hours per fortnight when the course is in session, unlimited when it is not. That rose from 40 hours on 1 July 2023. Research master's and doctoral students have no limit at all.
After graduating is where Indian students do better than almost anyone, under the Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement:
| Qualification | Indian nationals | Standard schedule |
|---|---|---|
| Bachelor's, including honours | 2 years | 2 years |
| Bachelor's, first class honours in STEM or ICT | 3 years | 2 years |
| Master's, any type | 3 years | 2 years coursework, 3 research |
| Doctorate | 4 years | 3 years |
A first class honours result in a STEM subject is worth an extra year of work rights, and a coursework master's is worth an extra year against the standard schedule. That is a concrete reason to weigh honours streams and master's pathways differently in Australia than you would elsewhere.
The limits: you must be 35 or under when you apply, you must have held a student visa in the last six months, and the visa cannot be extended.
The cap that is not a cap
Australia's National Planning Level is 295,000 new commencements for 2026, unchanged for 2027. It is not a legal cap and it does not cause refusals. It works through processing priority under Ministerial Direction 115, in force since 14 November 2025: applications to a provider are processed as Priority 1 until that provider hits 80 percent of its allocation, after which they are still accepted but processed more slowly.
The practical advice that follows is unglamorous and real. Apply early in the cycle, and ask your provider where it sits against its allocation. A late application to a popular provider is not refused, it simply queues. The calendar it queues behind is in studying in Australia from India and the Australia field guide.
Where this stops applying
Every figure above was read on immi.homeaffairs.gov.au, education.gov.au or studyaustralia.gov.au on 26 September 2026. Australian student visa settings have changed at least five times since 2023, including two charge rises, a financial threshold increase, an English rebuild and a new genuineness test. Check the Home Affairs page for your lodgement date before relying on any of it.
