How Many Contact Hours Make an Australian Foundation Program Full-Time in 2026?
A foundation program in Australia is full-time when it schedules at least 20 contact hours per teaching week. That definition comes from the Education Services for Overseas Students (Foundation Program Standards) Instrument 2021, made under the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 and published on the Australian Government's Federal Register of Legislation; every figure below follows the version of that page current as of September 2026.
The number is lower than most applicants expect, and the reason is that a "contact hour" is a broader category than "minutes spent in a lecture theatre". Four different kinds of scheduled activity go into the count, and delivery mode barely matters.
What actually counts as one of the 20 hours?
The instrument uses the term scheduled course contact hours, meaning the hours students are scheduled to attend, either online or in person:
| Scheduled activity | Counts toward the weekly total? |
|---|---|
| Classes | Yes |
| Course-related information sessions | Yes |
| Supervised study sessions | Yes |
| Examinations | Yes |
| Study periods longer than 6 months | Not permitted as a single study period |
Two things follow from this. First, a timetable that looks thin on teaching can still reach 20 hours once supervised study sessions and scheduled information sessions are added in — those are not filler, they are part of the definition. Second, hours you spend studying on your own, unsupervised and unscheduled, are not scheduled contact hours and do not rescue a timetable that falls short.
Do online classes count the same as on-campus ones?
Yes. The wording is explicit that attendance is scheduled "either online or in person", so a synchronous online class, a scheduled online information session and a supervised online study session all count on the same basis as their face-to-face equivalents. There is no discount for being remote, and no separate, higher threshold that online delivery has to clear.
The one place where the online/in-person question becomes a real distinction is inside the English language subjects, covered below.
How do the 20 hours add up across a whole program?
Weekly hours and total hours are two separate requirements, and both apply.
- A standard foundation program runs at least 26 and no more than 36 teaching weeks and contains a minimum of 720 scheduled course contact hours.
- An extended foundation program runs at least 37 and no more than 78 teaching weeks.
At the longest standard length, 720 hours over 36 teaching weeks works out to exactly 20 hours a week; at the shortest, 26 teaching weeks, the same 720-hour minimum averages closer to 27.7 hours a week. The weekly floor never disappears, though — a program cannot satisfy the standard by averaging 20 hours while dropping to 15 in some weeks.
Do English lessons have their own separate minimum?
They do, layered on top of the weekly 20 hours:
- In a standard program, at least 200 hours must be scheduled English language learning, and at least 100 of those hours must be scheduled formal class contact time.
- In an extended program, at least 28 per cent of scheduled course contact hours must be scheduled English language learning, and at least half of that minimum must be formal class contact time. The worked example in the instrument: an extended program with 1,000 scheduled course contact hours needs a minimum of 280 hours of English language learning, of which at least 140 must be formal class contact time.
Here the online/in-person distinction bites. English language learning may be delivered online or in person and includes both formal class contact time and regular, supervised self-directed study of English — but formal class contact time does not include supervised self-directed study. So supervised self-directed English study counts toward the 200-hour or 28-per-cent English minimum, while only formal class time counts toward the 100-hour or half-of-the-minimum sub-quota.
These hours also cannot be concentrated: the minimum must be spread consistently across the duration of the program and must not be delivered as one block of full-time study.
What else tells you a timetable is built properly?
Three structural requirements are worth reading alongside the hour count, because they are the same standard applied to the calendar rather than the clock:
- Study periods are capped. A study period — semester, session or term — is a discrete period of study of no more than 6 months.
- Breaks are mandatory. The program must be delivered in one or more full-time study periods with a minimum break of one week between them.
- Subject load is fixed. A enrolled student must complete three discipline-based subjects per study period, and the program must be delivered by a CRICOS-registered provider as a standard or extended program.
Suppose an applicant is comparing two offers, both advertised as "full-time". One lists 18 hours of classes plus two hours of supervised study sessions each week, with a scheduled information session in weeks when there is an exam; the other lists 19 hours of classes and nothing else. On the wording of the instrument, the first reaches 20 scheduled contact hours per teaching week and the second does not — even though the difference in "real" teaching time is one hour. That is the kind of check the 20-hour figure is designed to support, and it is also why the mode of delivery matters less than whether the session appears on the timetable at all.
This is general information about how the published standard is written, not advice on any individual enrolment, and it should not be read as a legal opinion; anything that affects your own course or visa should be checked against the official instrument as currently published or with a qualified professional.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is 20 hours per week the minimum, or just a typical load?
It is the floor. Full-time is defined as at least 20 hours of scheduled course contact hours per teaching week, so a program below that figure is not being delivered as a full-time study period under the Foundation Program Standards. Providers may well schedule more than 20 hours, and many do.
Do exams and supervised study sessions really count as contact hours?
Yes. The definition lists classes, course-related information sessions, supervised study sessions and examinations together. The common thread is that the student is scheduled to attend; unsupervised private study is not included.
If my classes are online, do I still reach the weekly total?
Yes, provided the sessions are scheduled. The instrument refers to hours students are scheduled to attend "either online or in person", so scheduled online classes, online information sessions and supervised online study sessions all count toward the 20 hours.
How many contact hours does a whole foundation program need?
A standard program runs 26 to 36 teaching weeks and must contain at least 720 scheduled course contact hours; an extended program runs 37 to 78 teaching weeks. The weekly 20-hour minimum still applies on top of whichever total applies to your program.
Can the English hours be done as one intensive block at the start?
No. The instrument requires the minimum English language learning hours to be spread consistently throughout the duration of the program and states that they must not be undertaken in a block of full-time study.
Can there be a study period with no break before the next one?
No. A foundation program must be delivered in one or more full-time study periods with a minimum break of one week between study periods, and no single study period may run longer than 6 months.