How much of an Australian course can be online in 2026? The one-third rule
An Australian provider cannot deliver a student visa course entirely online, and for higher education and VET courses no more than one-third of the units (or equivalent) may be delivered by online or distance learning. The cap is written as a count of units, so the check you can actually do before choosing classes is to list every unit in the course and mark its delivery mode — not to add up lecture hours. This follows the National Code 2018, Standard 8 — Overseas student visa requirements, published on the Australian Federal Register of Legislation (F2017L01182). The limit is a duty on the registered provider; what follows is general information about how the rule is drafted, not personalised advice about your enrolment or visa, and anything that turns on your own circumstances should be confirmed against the official instrument or with a qualified professional.
What exactly is the one-third limit?
Standard 8.19 states that a registered provider must not deliver more than one-third of the units (or equivalent) of a higher education or VET course by online or distance learning to an overseas student. Two details matter more than the fraction itself:
- It is measured in units, not in hours, weeks or semesters. A course where two of eight units are fully online is inside the limit (three of eight would exceed one-third); the same course could still have hundreds of recorded hours and remain inside the limit.
- "Or equivalent" covers courses that are not built out of units. Where a course is structured in modules, competencies or clusters, the same proportion has to be applied to whatever the comparable building blocks are.
The obligation sits on the provider, not on you. That is useful in practice: the delivery pattern a student visa holder is offered should already have been built to fit the rule, and your check is a verification exercise rather than a calculation the authorities expect you to perform yourself.
Before you count: which units actually count as online?
Standard 8 defines the terms, and the definition decides what goes into your numerator.
| Category | How the National Code describes it |
|---|---|
| Online learning | Study where teacher and student primarily communicate through digital media, technology-based tools and IT networks, and which does not require the student to attend scheduled classes or maintain contact hours |
| Not counted as online learning | Online lectures, tuition or other resources that supplement scheduled classes or contact hours |
| Distance learning | Learning undertaken off campus that does not require the student to physically attend regular tuition on campus at the provider's registered location |
So a face-to-face unit that posts recordings, readings and quiz materials online does not become an "online unit" under this definition — those materials supplement scheduled classes. A unit counts when the teaching relationship itself runs through the network and no scheduled attendance or contact hours are required of you.
How do I check a study plan unit by unit?
- Take the whole course, not one semester. The one-third proportion in Standard 8.19 applies across the course, so use the full unit list from the course structure.
- Mark each unit's mode. Use the test above: online, distance, or face-to-face with scheduled attendance.
- Divide online and distance units by total units. Anything above one-third is delivery the provider must not give to an overseas student.
- Then check each compulsory study period separately. Standard 8.20 requires that in every compulsory study period the student is studying at least one unit that is not by distance or online learning — unless the student is completing the last unit of their course.
Step 4 is the one people miss. A course can sit comfortably under one-third overall and still fail at the period level if a particular semester is stacked entirely with online units.
Can one study period be fully online?
Only in the narrow case Standard 8.20 carves out: when the student is completing the last unit of their course. In every other compulsory study period, at least one unit must not be delivered by distance or online learning.
Suppose an overseas student in a 24-unit bachelor degree is offered eight online units across the degree — exactly one-third, within the limit in Standard 8.19. If their final-year timetable places all remaining online units in a single compulsory period with no non-online unit alongside them, that period breaks Standard 8.20 even though the course-wide proportion looks fine. The fix is sequencing, not arithmetic: keep one unit with scheduled attendance in each compulsory period until the last unit is reached.
Do school, ELICOS and foundation programs use the same one-third count?
No. The one-third unit count in Standard 8.19 is written for higher education and VET courses. For school, ELICOS or foundation programs, Standard 8.21 requires that any online or distance learning be in addition to the minimum face-to-face teaching requirements approved by the relevant designated State authority or ESOS agency as part of the registration of the course, where that applies. In other words, the baseline is a floor of face-to-face teaching fixed at registration, and online delivery can only sit on top of it.
Why counting hours gives the wrong answer — even though hours matter elsewhere
Hours are used elsewhere in the framework, which is exactly why mixing the two up is easy:
- Standard 11.2.1 ties the expected duration of a VET course to full-time study, taken as a minimum of 20 scheduled course contact hours per week unless an accrediting authority specifies otherwise.
- Standard 8.6.1 sets satisfactory attendance for school, ELICOS and foundation programs at a minimum of 80 per cent of scheduled contact hours, and Standard 8.11 sets the same 80 per cent floor for VET providers whose registration requires attendance monitoring.
- Standard 8.2 requires the expected duration on your CoE not to exceed the CRICOS registered duration.
Those figures tell you about course duration, registration and attendance monitoring. The online cap is a separate test, and it is counted in units.
Who carries the risk if the online share is too high?
The duties bind the registered provider. Standard 8.18 says a provider must not deliver a course exclusively by online or distance learning to an overseas student, and Standards 8.19 and 8.20 add the one-third cap and the per-period requirement. Registration reinforces it: under Standard 11.1.2, modes of study — including online, distance or work-based training — are part of what a provider must seek approval for when registering a full-time course at a location, and Standard 11.2.4 requires that the course not be delivered entirely by online or distance learning. Under Standard 11.3, proposed changes to those registration details go to the ESOS agency at least 30 days before they are proposed to take effect.
There is also a support duty. Standard 8.22 requires providers to take all reasonable steps to support overseas students who may be disadvantaged by additional costs or other requirements arising from online or distance learning — including students with special needs — or by being unable to access the institution's resources and community and opportunities to engage with other overseas students while studying that way.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I complete an entire Australian degree online on a student visa?
No. Standard 8.18 prohibits a registered provider from delivering a course exclusively by online or distance learning to an overseas student, and Standard 11.2.4 requires that a registered course not be delivered entirely by online or distance learning. Some online study is permitted, but a fully online course is not.
Is the one-third limit measured in hours or in units?
In units. Standard 8.19 caps online or distance delivery at no more than one-third of the units (or equivalent) of a higher education or VET course. Hours appear elsewhere in the framework — for example, the 20 scheduled contact hours per week used for VET course duration under Standard 11.2.1 — but they are not the measure for this cap.
Do recorded lectures and online course materials count toward the limit?
Not by themselves. The National Code definition excludes the provision of online lectures, tuition or other resources that supplement scheduled classes or contact hours. A unit counts as online when teaching and learning primarily happen through digital media and the student is not required to attend scheduled classes or maintain contact hours.
Can one semester be entirely online if the course as a whole is under one-third?
Generally no. Standard 8.20 requires at least one unit that is not by distance or online learning in each compulsory study period, with the single exception of a student completing the last unit of their course. Keeping one unit with scheduled attendance in every compulsory period is a separate test from the course-wide proportion.
Do school, ELICOS and foundation programs follow the one-third unit rule?
They follow a different test. Under Standard 8.21, any online or distance learning must be in addition to the minimum face-to-face teaching requirements approved by the relevant designated State authority or ESOS agency as part of the course registration, where applicable. The one-third unit count in Standard 8.19 applies to higher education and VET courses.
Who is responsible if too much of my course turns out to be online?
The duty is on the registered provider, which must not deliver more than the permitted share by online or distance learning. Modes of study are also part of what the provider has registered with its ESOS agency, and proposed changes must be submitted for approval at least 30 days before they take effect under Standard 11.3.