Training visa offshore move, partner backlog and student visa fallout

Executive Summary

From 12 November, applications for the Training visa (subclass 407) must be lodged from outside Australia, and the Department of Home Affairs has confirmed that partner visa applications awaiting processing have passed 120,000. For Australian employers, the combination of offshore-first lodgement, an onshore priority for partner files and a tighter working holiday ballot shortens the practical window for building skilled and entry-level pipelines, which makes earlier workforce planning and broader sourcing channels considerably more important.

Introduction

Few periods in the immigration system produce as much movement for employers and overseas candidates as the current one. Recent weeks have brought a new offshore lodgement rule for training visas, a parliamentary finding on partner visa processing, a government acknowledgement that its student visa campaign has produced unintended consequences, and further reductions to state nomination allocations.

For hiring managers, none of this is abstract policy. Student and graduate labour underpins a substantial share of frontline and mid-level vacancies in hospitality, agriculture and food production, education support, community care, construction and logistics. Partner processing times, meanwhile, influence whether an international hire actually relocates. For candidates, the same settings determine when a lodgement can be made, whether a refusal can be challenged, and whether an offer is worth accepting.

GRIA, now part of Hire Australia, publishes this analysis for the sector; the group’s visa work sits with the Australian Immigration Agency (AIA).

Training visa (subclass 407) applications must be lodged offshore from 12 November

The Department of Home Affairs has confirmed that, from 12 November, applicants for the Training visa (subclass 407) may only lodge applications from outside Australia. Applicants lodging after that date must also be outside Australia to be granted the visa.

The change follows earlier amendments requiring the sponsoring organisation’s approval before an application can be made, so the training arrangement itself must be in place before lodgement. Applications lodged in Australia before 12 November continue to be processed, and bridging visas will be issued as usual for those applicants.

The stated purpose is to prevent applicants from lodging onshore and then challenging a refusal before the Administrative Review Tribunal (AAT). Requiring offshore lodgement removes that avenue of internal merits review for people who are not in Australia.

What employers should note:

Employers using sponsored or structured workplace training arrangements should confirm which applications were lodged before 12 November and which were not.
Lodgement timing now affects review rights, so candidates should be encouraged to check their own position before a deadline passes.
Sponsoring organisations remain responsible for ensuring the training arrangement is genuine, the workplace is appropriate and the nomination is real.

Partner visa backlog reaches 120,000 as onshore applications take priority

A Senate committee inquiry has heard that partner visa applications awaiting processing now number about 120,000 as at 31 August, comprising roughly 81,000 applications lodged in Australia and 39,000 lodged from outside Australia. Program year lodgements have risen from around 96,000 to more than 116,000 in 2025–26, and average processing time has climbed to roughly 23 months from around 18 months a year earlier.

Ministerial Direction 117 now directs the Department to prioritise onshore applications, with processing resources concentrated on that cohort. The Department confirmed it has not modelled how long offshore applicants will wait, and that offshore files will slow while onshore files are completed. Cases already at advanced processing stages, and those with compelling or humanitarian circumstances, continue to be progressed.

Planning levels for partner visas are 41,500. On the evidence given to the committee, roughly two years of onshore caseload would need to be cleared before the offshore cohort is reached, and with new onshore applications continuing to arrive, commentary has suggested three years or longer before the oldest offshore files are examined. Those figures are indicative estimates derived from published planning levels rather than official guidance, and applicants should not treat them as a commitment.

Why employers and candidates should care:

An offer to an offshore candidate cannot assume a partner will accompany them on any particular date, and family timing regularly influences whether a candidate accepts or declines.
Regional employers already report difficulty attracting and retaining international workers, and a partner backlog compounds the problem.
The Department’s guidance points offshore applicants to visitor visa options so families can travel while waiting, which is useful context but not a substitute for a decision on the visa itself.

Student visa refusals: overcorrection acknowledged, sector warns of talent pullback

The government’s Genuine Student requirement has driven student visa refusal rates to around 24 per cent across all student visa applications in the last financial year, and to roughly 51 per cent for applicants from Nepal and 40 per cent for applicants from India. The government has acknowledged the unintended consequences while maintaining that system integrity justifies the approach, and has declined to apologise.

The sector response has been severe. Universities have reported a combined revenue shortfall of around $1 billion in international student fees, and prospective students are weighing alternative destinations.

Several compounding decisions sit behind that response:

Student visa application fees were increased by more than 200 per cent, with those fees retained where applications were refused.
Graduates aged 36 and over were excluded from the Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485), with limited exceptions for research masters and doctoral candidates.
Changing education provider now carries significant consequences, including being required to leave Australia and lodge a new application from outside the country, which affects review rights and subsequent applications for family members.
Confirmed at a Senate inquiry this week, subclass 485 holders are not permitted to bring family members to Australia.
A new points test is being prepared that would remove benefits previously available to people who study in Australia.

Employer implications: the international student and graduate pipeline remains a core source of entry-level and mid-level candidates. With refusal rates at these levels and the subclass 485 age limit in force, employers relying on this channel should identify alternatives earlier, including direct sponsorship and state-nominated pathways, and build in longer lead times for any offer that depends on a student or graduate visa being finalised.

Working holiday ballot leaves regional employers short

Western Australian evidence to a Senate inquiry raised concern about a ballot that would select Working Holiday visa holders seeking to remain in regional areas for a third year. One estimate indicated the ballot could reduce the number of third-year extensions by around 84 per cent.

The regional impact matters because many working holiday makers spend their first year in Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane before moving to regional areas in their second and third years. Evidence suggested a start in late November, with the exact date still unconfirmed, and a current onshore processing time of about three months for second-year renewals already under way.

For regional employers: seasonal and year-round employers in agriculture, hospitality and tourism should clarify location commitments early in the recruitment process and plan for gaps where a ballot may restrict continuation.

Victoria reduces state nomination allocations

Victoria has been allocated 900 places in the Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190) for the current year, a sharp reduction from 2,700 places in the previous financial year. The state’s Skilled Regional visa (subclass 491) allocation has not been finalised, but a reduction is expected. Victoria has also introduced a charge for registering an expression of interest, its first such charge.

Employers pursuing state-nominated routes in Victoria should confirm current allocation and nomination processes, and reassess whether the same strategy remains viable in another state before committing to a timeline.

Key Takeaways

From 12 November, Training visa (subclass 407) applications must be lodged from outside Australia; onshore applications lodged before that date continue to be processed, with bridging visas issued as usual.
Partner visa applications awaiting processing have passed 120,000, with 81,000 onshore and 39,000 offshore. Ministerial Direction 117 prioritises onshore files, and the Department has published no modelling of offshore wait times.
Student visa refusal rates of around 24 per cent overall, about 51 per cent for Nepali applicants and 40 per cent for Indian applicants, have been acknowledged as unintended consequences alongside fee rises of more than 200 per cent and the subclass 485 age exclusion.
A working holiday ballot expected to start in late November is estimated to cut third-year regional extensions by around 84 per cent, adding pressure to regional hiring.
Victoria’s subclass 190 allocation has dropped to 900 places from 2,700, with subclass 491 places expected to fall, so state-nominated hiring strategies need to be reassessed.

Official sources

Related GRIA pages

GRIA is now part of Hire Australia

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