An International Student’s Guide to Changing Courses and Education Providers

If you hold a Student visa and are thinking about changing your course of study, ensure that you continue to meet all the conditions that apply to your student visa.

If you have not completed six months of your principal course (the main course of study you are undertaking) and you want to change your education provider, the ESOS National Code explains the circumstances in which this will be possible. Unless special circumstances apply, you usually need to have permission from your existing education provider to transfer to another education provider.

If you want to transfer, your education provider must assess or consider your request to transfer. All education providers have documented procedures about their transfer policy. Make sure you understand your education provider's transfer policy, and what your written agreement says you must do, before you attempt to enrol with a new education provider.

If your education provider does not give you permission to transfer to another education provider and you are not satisfied with the outcome, you should first use your education provider's internal appeal process. If you are still not satisfied, you can appeal the education provider's decision at an external complaints handling body such as the State or Territory Ombudsman or the Overseas Student Ombudsman.

If you change courses and your new Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE) for your principal course has a shorter end date, you must depart Australia or apply for a new visa within 28 days of completing your principal course or your visa might be considered for cancellation.

If you already have a student visa and want to change your main course of study to a lower Australian Qualification Framework (AQF) level course or a non-AQF level course, you will generally need a new student visa. This requirement applies even if the course you change to is with the same education provider.

You will not need to apply for a new visa if you are changing from an AQF level 10 course (doctoral degree) to an AQF 9 course (Masters degree).

For example:

·      If you are studying a Bachelor of Science (Level 7) at a university and wish to transfer to a Diploma of Accounting (Level 5) at the same institution, you would need to apply for and be granted a new student visa.

·      If you are studying a Certificate IV (AQF level 4) and want to transfer to an ELICOS course (non-AQF course), you will need to apply for and be granted a new student visa.

·      If you are studying a non-AQF course and want to transfer to an AQF course, you would not need to apply for a new student visa.

For locals, the process is reasonably straightforward but for international students, there a few things to take into account.

Here are several questions you might have about changing courses.

I want to change my education provider. How soon after starting my course can I do this?

If you’re have been studying your principal course for less than six months, the ESOS National Code outlines whether you will be able to change courses. You will most likely need permission from your current educational provider to transfer, which will require the evaluation of the provider’s transfer policy. Make sure you understand what is expected of you prior to transferring to a new provider.

What if my education provider rejects my request to transfer to a different provider?

Your first option is to lodge a complaint with your education provider’s internal appeal process. If you don’t achieve a resolution you are happy with, there are external bodies where you can press your case, including the State or Territory Ombudsman or the Overseas Student Ombudsman.

Does changing courses affect my student visa?

If you have changed courses, check whether the end date of your Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE) has changed. If it has, you must apply for a new visa within 28 days of completing your principal course to avoid your visa being cancelled or having to leave Australia.

I hold a student visa (subclass 500) and wish to change to a lower level or non-Australian Qualifications Framework course. Is this possible?

Yes, but you will need to apply for a new student visa, even if the new course is offered by your current provider. Exceptions include changing from a level 10 course (doctoral degree) to a level nine course (masters degree). You will not need to apply for a new student visa if you want to change from a non-AQF course to an AQF course.

I hold a student visa (subclass 570-576) and wish to change to a course from a different educational sector (ELICOS to a diploma, for example). Is this possible?

You will need to apply for a student visa (subclass 500) because your current visa is not suitable for your new course. If you received your visa under streamlined visa processing (SVP), there is a possible exception if the provider you are transferring to was not an eligible provider prior to 1 July 2016, dependent on the length of your current visa and country of origin.