Student Visa Country Assessment Levels : 30 September 2026 Update

Updated on 30 September 2026 Key takeaways

• Country assessment levels for Australian student visa applications were updated on 30 September 2026.

• Almost all countries stay at the same level as before the update.

• Levels for Indonesian and Malaysian applicants are unchanged.

• Education providers can change level separately, which alters the evidence a student must provide.

• The level sets the documents required at lodgement. It does not decide the visa outcome.

Role of The Assessment Level

The country assessment level for a student visa (subclass 500) sets how much financial and English language evidence goes in with an application. The Department of Home Affairs updates the evidence levels of countries and education providers twice yearly, in March and September, so the 30 September 2026 update is the regular September round.

Every country and every CRICOS-registered education provider holds Level 1, 2 or 3. Level 1 is the lowest risk and Level 3 the highest. The combined country and education provider framework is based on immigration outcomes, and guides whether a visa applicant is required to provide evidence at the time of the application.

Almost All Countries Stay The Same

Compared with the levels in use earlier in 2026, almost all countries remain where they were. The major movement of the year came out of cycle on 8 January 2026, when several South Asian countries moved to a higher level. The September round leaves those settings in place.

Home Affairs does not publish the country list, and official country-by-country rankings are not publicly available. Any list of levels seen online comes from industry sources and should be treated as unofficial.

Indonesian and Malaysian Applicants

The country levels for Indonesian and Malaysian applicants have not changed in this update. Documents prepared under the earlier levels remain the right starting point for the country side of an application. The provider side needs a separate check, because a school can change level even when the country does not.

Education Provider Levels Can Move

Provider levels are not made public. Home Affairs has said evidence levels of education providers are withheld to protect commercially sensitive immigration data. A provider at the lowest level gives streamlined requirements to students from every market. Providers at higher levels only give that benefit to students from the lowest-level countries.

Movement between provider levels is uncommon. Only two CRICOS-registered institutions shifted evidence levels in the March 2026 update. Two students from the same country can still receive different document lists if their chosen schools sit at different levels.

Effect of A Level Change On An Application

Evidence levels do not decide approval or refusal on their own. They change how much evidence is attached at lodgement. The Genuine Student requirement stays central to every assessment at every level, and the wider student visa reforms announced on 17 September 2026 keep the focus on genuine study.

Applications already lodged are not refused because a level changed afterwards. The Department of Home Affairs does not cancel or refuse applications solely because a country's evidence level changes after lodgement.

Checking The Level Before Lodgement

The Document Checklist Tool generates a personalised evidence list from the country of passport, the education provider and its CRICOS code. The check should be repeated close to the lodgement date, since levels can change between rounds.

Newsted Global assists Indonesian and Malaysian students with provider selection, evidence preparation and subclass 500 applications.