What personal details does an Australian provider report about me as an accepted student in 2026?

Plain-language guide · general information, not immigration advice

When you accept an offer from an Australian education provider, the provider does not decide for itself what to pass on about you. Section 9 of the Education Services for Overseas Students Regulations 2019 (ESOS Regulations 2019) prescribes a fixed list of details for a person who becomes an accepted student of a registered provider, for the purposes of paragraph 19(1)(a) of the ESOS Act. As of September 2026, the official page for that instrument on the Federal Register of Legislation lists your residential address, phone number and email address; gender; date of birth; country of birth; nationality; the unique identifier of your course; the course location; the agreed starting day; the day you are expected to complete; tuition and non-tuition fee totals; and, in defined circumstances, your passport number, your visa number and your English test result.

Which personal fields does the regulation actually name?

The most direct answer to "how much does my school know and report" is the list below. Every item is a prescribed detail under section 9, not a discretionary addition by the provider.

Field	What it covers
Contact details	Residential address, phone number and email address
Gender	As recorded by the provider
Date of birth	Day, month and year
Country of birth	Separate from nationality
Nationality	The nationality you hold
Course identifier	The unique identifier of your course
Course location	Where the course is delivered
Course start	The agreed starting day
Expected completion	The day you are expected to complete the course
Tuition fees paid	Total tuition fees paid for the course
Fee period	For a non-public provider, the period the tuition fees paid relate to
Non-tuition fees paid	Total non-tuition fees paid for the course
Total tuition required	Total tuition fees required to undertake the course, including amounts already paid

Country of birth and nationality are separate fields, which matters for anyone born in one country and holding another country's citizenship: both are captured.

Does my provider report my passport and visa number?

Only in the situations the regulation sets out. Section 9(o) requires the passport number if the student was in Australia when the student became an accepted student — so an applicant who accepts from overseas and is outside Australia at that point does not fall inside this item. Section 9(p) requires the visa number if the student holds an Australian visa.

Section 9 also covers two further conditional items:

English language test results (s 9(q)): if a particular test is specified under paragraph 500.213(3)(a) of Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations 1994, and you have sat that test — whether or not you sat it for a Subclass 500 (Student) visa — the provider reports the test name, the day you sat it, your score, and either the unique identifier for the result or your unique student reference number.
Applicant class (s 9(r)): if you hold or have applied for a Subclass 500 visa and, when you applied, you were within a class of applicants specified under paragraph 500.213(3)(b), that class is reported.

What happens if I'm under 18?

Section 9(f) adds a second layer for students who are less than 18 years old: the name, residential address, phone number and email address of a person other than the provider who has legal authority to act on the student's behalf, and that person's relationship to the student — parent or guardian, for example. In other words, the reporting net extends to your parent or guardian's contact details, not just your own.

Which details are reported again when they change?

This is the part most students miss. Section 11 sets out separate "other prescribed matters" that must be given within the applicable number of days after a specified event, with that number of days determined under subsection 19(1A) of the ESOS Act. The regulation itself lists the events, not a single fixed deadline:

Event	What is reported
Provider becomes aware the section 9(a) contact details have changed	The change to those details
Provider becomes aware the section 9(f) guardian details have changed, and the student is under 18	The change to those details
The course does not begin when expected, and paragraph 19(1)(c) of the ESOS Act does not apply	Residential address, phone number and email address
The student changes course	The day of the change, plus contact details
The course changes in duration	The day the change takes effect, plus contact details
The location at which the course is provided changes	The day the change takes effect, plus contact details
Studies are deferred or suspended	Start day, expected duration, plus contact details
The end date of a deferment or suspension changes	The change to the end date
Provider reports a breach of a student visa condition	Australian residential address, overseas residential address, phone number and email address
Studies are terminated before completion	Day of termination, last day of studies, plus contact details

Notice the pattern: contact details are re-reported on almost every event. Moving house or changing your phone number is not a one-time disclosure — item 3 makes it a rolling obligation once the provider becomes aware of the change.

Section 11 item 1 adds one more trigger at the moment you become an accepted student: if an education agent was engaged in recruitment activity in relation to you, the provider reports the agent's name, principal place of business address, registered office (for a body corporate), postal address, phone, email and website, ABN or ACN, trading names, directors' names, and — if the agent is a registered migration agent — the agent's Migration Agents Registration Number. The name and email address of each agent employee involved in your recruitment are included, along with that employee's Migration Agents Registration Number where applicable.

What else must the provider keep on file about me?

Reporting and record-keeping are separate duties. Under section 13, the records for each accepted student who is enrolled or who has paid tuition fees must include the total tuition fees paid; for each payment, whether it covered the full course or part of it and the duration of that period; total non-tuition fees paid; the combined total of tuition and non-tuition fees paid; any fees that have become payable but remain unpaid; copies of written agreements between provider and student; the amount the student will be charged to access their records; education agent details if an agent was or is engaged; and the English test details described above.

Section 14 sets the ceiling on access: the fee for an accepted student to access a section 13 record must not exceed the cost incurred by the provider in providing access to that record. No dollar figure is specified in the instrument, so the operative limit is the provider's own cost.

This article describes what the regulations say in general terms and is not a substitute for advice on your own circumstances; legislative instruments are amended over time and your course, visa history and provider type can change which items apply, so the official register and a qualified professional remain the reliable check.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does my provider report my passport number if I accept the offer from overseas? No, not under section 9(o), which applies only if you were in Australia when you became an accepted student. If you later hold an Australian visa, section 9(p) separately requires the visa number.

Will my school report my English test score? Only where a specific test is required under paragraph 500.213(3)(a) of Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations 1994 and you have sat it — whether or not you sat it for a Subclass 500 visa. The reported items are the test name, test date, score, and the result identifier or your unique student reference number.

What happens if I move house or change my phone number? Section 11 item 3 makes a change to the section 9(a) contact details a reportable event once the provider becomes aware of it, reportable within the applicable number of days set by the ESOS Act. Your contact details are also re-reported on most other events, including course changes, deferrals and terminations.

Are my education agent's details reported too? Yes, if an agent was engaged in recruitment activity in relation to you: name and business, registered office, postal, phone, email and website details, ABN or ACN, trading names, directors, and any Migration Agents Registration Number, plus the name and email of involved employees.

Can I see what my provider holds about me? Section 13 requires providers to keep an extensive record file, and section 14 caps the access fee at the provider's actual cost of giving you access. The fee is not a fixed amount in the instrument, so the limit is cost recovery rather than a set charge.

Do these reporting duties apply to under-18 students differently? Yes. Section 9(f) adds the name, address, phone and email of the person legally authorised to act on your behalf, and their relationship to you, and section 11 requires any change to those details to be reported while you are under 18.