australiavisasprocessingpolicy
MD115: how Australia now prioritises student visas
Offshore student visa applications lodged on or after 14 November 2025 are processed under a new set of rules, Ministerial Direction 115, instead of the previous MD111. The change doesn’t touch onshore applications, but it does change how quickly an offshore application gets looked at — and that now depends heavily on which provider you’re applying to.
What changed
Home Affairs confirms that applications lodged before 14 November 2025 are processed under MD111, while those lodged on or after that date fall under MD115. According to Study Australia, MD115 sets three processing priority tiers based on how an education provider is tracking against its allocation of New Overseas Student Commencements (NOSC) under the National Planning Level. Providers managing their intake in line with their allocation get faster processing for their students; providers that have overshot or are close to their limit see their applicants processed with lower priority.
This replaces the older, simpler prioritisation approach and ties visa processing speed more directly to each provider’s enrolment behaviour rather than treating all applications the same way regardless of provider.
Who it affects
- Anyone applying for a Subclass 500 student visa from outside Australia.
- Students choosing between providers late in an intake cycle, where one provider’s enrolment position may be materially better than another’s.
- Education agents advising on provider selection, since processing speed is no longer just about application quality — it’s also about the provider’s standing against its cap.
What you should do
- Ask your prospective provider where they stand against their NOSC allocation before you commit — a provider close to its limit may mean slower visa processing regardless of how strong your application is.
- Apply as early as possible in the intake cycle, when providers are less likely to be near their allocation ceiling.
- If you’re weighing two similar offers, treat likely processing speed as a real factor, not just course content and location.
- Track the Subclass 500 visa processing time tool on the Home Affairs site for your own application once lodged — it reflects recent decisions, not guaranteed timing.
What hasn’t changed
Onshore student visa applications aren’t affected by MD115’s provider-tiered prioritisation. The visa’s core requirements — the Genuine Student assessment, financial and English evidence, and Confirmation of Enrolment — are unchanged. This is about queue order, not eligibility.