Student Visa Conditions You Must Follow 8105, 8202, and 8501 Explained (2026)
Last updated: May 2026 Every Subclass 500 student visa issued by the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) comes with legally binding conditions printed on your visa grant notice. Three of them are the most commonly misunderstood and most frequently breached: condition 8105 (work limits), condition 8202 (study obligations), and condition 8501 (health insurance). Getting any one of them wrong puts your visa, your place in Australia, and your ability to return at serious risk. This guide explains what each condition actually requires, where students most often slip up, and what happens if a breach is found. What Are Visa Conditions and Why Do They Matter? When DHA grants your visa, it attaches a list of numbered conditions under Schedule 8 of the Migration Regulations 1994. These appear on your visa grant notice as codes, and they bind you from the moment you enter Australia, whether or not you have read them. Breaching any condition gives DHA grounds to cancel your visa under section 116(1) of the Migration Act 1958. Check your specific conditions any time through the Visa Entitlement Verification Online (VEVO) system at immi.homeaffairs.gov.au. Condition 8105: Work Restrictions for Student Visa Holders Condition 8105 sets the paid work limit for primary student visa holders. It is one of the most frequently breached conditions on a Subclass 500 visa, often because students miscount their hours across multiple jobs or misread when a course break officially begins. The 48-Hour Fortnightly Cap While your course is in session, you are limited to 48 hours of work per fortnight. A fortnight means any consecutive 14-day period. The cap applies to all jobs combined, including casual, part-time, and ABN contract work. This limit was increased from 40 hours to 48 hours in July 2023, per the Subclass 500 visa conditions on immi.homeaffairs.gov.au, and remains in force as of May 2026. You cannot start any paid work before your course formally commences. Once an official course break begins, the cap lifts and you can work unlimited hours. Who Is Exempt from the 48-Hour Limit? Students enrolled in a Master by Research or Doctoral (PhD) degree are not subject to the 48-hour fortnightly cap. These students can work unlimited hours at any time, including when their course is in session. This exemption does not extend to coursework Masters degrees. Work Rights for Family Members on a Student Visa Secondary applicants (family members listed on your student visa) are covered by condition 8104, which imposes the same 48-hour fortnightly limit. They cannot start work until the primary student visa holder has formally commenced their course. Condition 8202: Maintaining Your Enrolment and Academic Progress Most students know they need to stay enrolled. What condition 8202 actually covers is broader than that. For Subclass 500 holders, it has three components running at the same time: maintaining full-time enrolment, staying at the correct Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) level, and meeting the attendance and academic progress standards required under the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 (ESOS Act). The AQF Level Rule: Why Changing Courses Can Breach Your Visa Your visa is granted for a course at a specific AQF level. Switching to a lower AQF level on the same visa is a breach of condition 8202, regardless of how your education provider handles the internal transfer. A practical example: if your visa was granted for a Bachelor degree (AQF Level 7) and you transfer to a TAFE diploma (AQF Level 5), you are in breach and require a new student visa. If you are considering VET courses in Australia, always confirm with a migration agent whether your current visa covers the intended course level. Moving to a course at the same or higher AQF level is generally permitted, but you must obtain a new Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE) and update your records via ImmiAccount. What “Satisfactory Attendance” Actually Means Condition 8202 also requires satisfactory attendance and academic progress. Your education provider is legally required to monitor and report non-compliance to DHA through the PRISMS reporting system. Once a report is submitted, DHA issues a notice giving you an opportunity to respond before any cancellation decision is made. For answers to common course-related questions, visit our student visa and course FAQ. Not sure whether a course change affects your visa? Get advice before you transfer. Book a consultation with RACC Indonesia. Condition 8501: Maintaining Adequate Health Insurance Condition 8501 requires you to maintain adequate health insurance for your entire stay in Australia. For Subclass 500 holders, the required product is Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC), not Overseas Visitor Health Cover (OVHC), which is a different product designed for other visa types. OSHC must cover you and all secondary applicants listed on your visa, with no gaps at any point. The breach we see most often: a student extends their course by one semester but forgets to extend their OSHC at the same time. A gap of even a few weeks is a breach of condition 8501. Before you renew, confirm that your policy end date matches your visa validity period exactly. What Happens If You Breach a Student Visa Condition? Regardless of which condition is breached, the process DHA follows is the same under section 116(1) of the Migration Act 1958. DHA issues a Notice of Intention to Consider Cancellation (NOICC) and gives you approximately 28 days to respond. If your response is insufficient, your visa is cancelled. From that point: you become an unlawful non-citizen, a three-year re-entry ban applies under Public Interest Criterion (PIC) 4014, and you must declare the cancellation on every future Australian visa application worldwide. Review rights exist through the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART), which replaced the Administrative Appeals Tribunal on 14 October 2024. Students who complete their course and want to stay on in Australia may also explore the Temporary Graduate Visa (Subclass 485), though any compliance issues on your student visa will need to be disclosed at that point. Condition Common Breach Consequence 8105 OSHC allowed to lapse at any point during
