Can an Australian college ask for 100% of tuition upfront in 2026?

Plain-language guide · general information, not immigration advice

Under section 27 of the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 (ESOS Act 2000), as published on the Australian Government Federal Register of Legislation page “Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 s 27 Tuition fees” (as of the September 2026 official page), a registered provider must not receive more than 50% of an overseas student’s total tuition fees for a course before the student has begun the course. In everyday terms, an Australian college cannot lawfully require the full 100% of tuition before you start a course longer than 25 weeks unless you, or the person responsible for paying your fees, choose to pay more than 50% before you begin. The only other path to a lawful full prepayment is where the course itself has a duration of 25 weeks or less. Because the outcome depends on your exact enrolment contract and who pays, treat this as general information rather than advice on your own circumstances, and confirm the details against the official legislation or with a qualified professional.

What is the default 50% rule before a course starts?

Section 27(1) states that a registered provider must not receive, in respect of an overseas student or intending overseas student, more than 50% of the student’s total tuition fees for a course before the student has begun the course. The comparison is against the total tuition fees for that course, and the restriction lasts up to the moment the student begins. A payment that keeps the provider at or below 50% — for example, a deposit or first instalment within that share — fits inside the default rule; a payment that takes it above 50% before day one does not.

The wording also covers an “intending overseas student”, not only someone who has already been accepted and started the visa process. In other words, the cap can apply at the pre-commencement stage, when the student has not yet begun the course.

Can a college require 100% upfront, or only receive it?

Section 27 is written around what the provider may receive. If a college demands 100% as a condition of enrolment and the course is longer than 25 weeks, receiving that money before you begin would exceed the 50% default limit, and the provision does not permit it. A mandatory condition is not the same as the voluntary choice described in the next section.

This is why the practical answer to “can it ask for 100%?” is narrower than the question sounds. An invoice or request can be made, but the provider can only lawfully receive the full amount before you start in the two exception situations set out in s 27(2). Where neither exception applies, the most it may receive before you begin is 50% of the total tuition fees for the course.

When is full upfront payment allowed? The two exceptions

Section 27(2) lists the situations in which the 50% limit in subsection (1) does not apply. They are the voluntary-payment exception and the short-course exception.

1. The student or the fee-payer chooses to pay more than 50%

Under s 27(2)(a), the limit does not apply if either the student (subparagraph (i)) or a person who is responsible for paying those fees (subparagraph (ii)) chooses to pay more than 50% of the overseas student’s, or intending overseas student’s, total tuition fees for the course before the student has begun the course. A parent, sponsor, or another payer who is responsible for the fees can therefore decide to pay the full year upfront.

The operative word is “choose”. The exception is about a voluntary decision to pay more, not about a provider turning a compulsory 100% demand into an exception. If the payer is simply told that full prepayment is required, that is not the same as the payer choosing to pay more.

2. The course has a duration of 25 weeks or less

Under s 27(2)(b), s 27(1) does not apply if the course has a duration of 25 weeks or less. For a course of that length, the provider may receive the full tuition before the student begins, because the 50% cap is switched off for the whole course.

The exception is tied to the length of the course itself. It is not enough that the provider calls the program “short” or that the student prefers to pay in one go; the duration must be 25 weeks or less.

What if the course is longer than 25 weeks and you do not choose to pay more?

Then the default rule applies. The provider must not receive more than 50% of the total tuition fees for the course before you begin. It may still receive an amount up to that 50% threshold before commencement, and the balance is only received once you have begun the course, unless the voluntary-payment exception applies.

If a provider asks for more than the 50% share in this situation, the excess is not within the permission given by s 27(1). The two exceptions are the only routes to a lawful receipt of 100% before the course starts.

How are tuition fees paid before the course begins protected?

Two related provisions deal with the money itself. Under s 28(1), a registered provider that receives tuition fees for a course before the student has begun the course must maintain an account in accordance with the section. Under s 28(2), that account must be maintained with an Australian ADI (within the meaning of section 9 of the Corporations Act 2001).

Section 29 then sets out how the money must be handled:

Under s 29(1), the provider must pay the fees to the credit of an account maintained under s 28.
Under s 29(2), the provider must pay the fees into the account within 5 business days of receiving them (the note refers to the definition of business day in section 2B of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901).
Under s 29(3), the provider must ensure at all times that a sufficient amount — described as the protected amount — stands to the credit of the account to repay all tuition fees to every overseas student or intending overseas student in respect of whom tuition fees have been paid and who has not yet begun the course. The provision calls such a student a relevant student.
Under s 29(4), an amount may be withdrawn so as to reduce the balance below the protected amount only in limited cases: to pay a refund under s 46D, 47D or 47E to or in relation to a relevant student; to pay an alternative provider where the provider arranges under s 46D for the student to be offered a place in an alternative course at the provider’s expense; or to pay the TPS Director under s 50C in relation to the relevant student.
Under s 29(5), an amount withdrawn under subsection (4) must not be more than the amount of tuition fees received by the provider in respect of the student before the student begins the course.
Under s 29(6), the protected amount is not available for the payment of a debt of any creditor of the provider, other than as referred to in subsection (4), and is not liable to be attached or taken in execution under the order or process of a court at the instance of any creditor, other than as referred to in subsection (4).

Two notes in the official text clarify the timing. Note 1 to s 29(4) explains that tuition fees of a relevant student cease to be part of the protected amount, and may therefore be withdrawn, once the student begins the course the provider is to provide. Note 2 explains that there are no limits on withdrawals from the account as long as the balance remains above the protected amount.

For a student who voluntarily pays more than 50%, this matters: the extra money is still tuition fees received before the course begins, so it must be dealt with under ss 28 and 29 and forms part of the protected amount until the student begins. Choosing to pay more does not strip the payment of that protection, unless the provider is exempt under s 31.

Are any providers exempt from the account rules?

Yes. Section 31 provides that the following kinds of provider are exempt from the requirements in sections 28 and 29 and in regulations made under section 30:

a provider that is administered by a State education authority;
any other provider that is entitled to receive funds under a law of the Commonwealth for recurrent expenditure for the provision of education or training, other than one excluded by the regulations from the scope of this paragraph;
any other provider specified in the regulations.

The section also makes clear, to avoid doubt, that any private corporate body established in connection with a provider covered by paragraph (a) or (b) is not itself, by virtue of that connection alone, a provider covered by that paragraph.

It is important to read this exemption correctly. Section 31 exempts providers from the account requirements in ss 28 and 29; it is not expressed as an exemption from the 50% limit in s 27. So even where a provider is relieved from maintaining the protected account, the s 27 rule — that it must not receive more than 50% of total tuition fees before the student has begun the course, subject to the two s 27(2) exceptions — remains a separate obligation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is asking for a 100% deposit the same as charging full tuition upfront?

No. The cap in s 27(1) is on the provider receiving more than 50% of the total tuition fees for the course before the student begins. A deposit or first payment that is 50% or less stays inside the default limit, while receiving 100% before the course starts does not, unless the student or fee-payer chooses to pay more or the course runs 25 weeks or less.

Can my parents pay my full tuition upfront if they want to?

Yes, if they are the person responsible for paying the fees and they choose to pay more than 50% before the course begins, the exception in s 27(2)(a)(ii) applies. The key point is that the decision is theirs, not a condition imposed by the provider. Fees received this way are still tuition fees received before you begin, so they are covered by the account rules in ss 28–29 unless the provider is exempt under s 31.

Do short courses have to follow the 50% limit?

No, not if the course has a duration of 25 weeks or less. Under s 27(2)(b), the 50% limit in s 27(1) does not apply to such courses, so the provider may receive the full tuition before the student begins. Courses longer than 25 weeks remain subject to the 50% default limit unless the voluntary-payment exception applies.

What happens to my tuition if the provider closes before I start?

Under ss 28 and 29, fees received before you begin must be paid into an account with an Australian ADI within 5 business days and kept as a protected amount to repay students who have not yet begun. That protected amount cannot be used to pay the provider’s other creditors, and it can only be drawn down for limited purposes such as certain refunds, an alternative course arranged at the provider’s expense, or payment to the TPS Director. Providers listed in s 31 are exempt from these account requirements, so the protection depends on the provider’s status.

Are all Australian education providers bound by the 50% rule?

The rule in s 27 is directed at a registered provider, and the two exceptions in s 27(2) are the voluntary-payment choice and the 25-weeks-or-less course. Section 31 separately exempts certain providers — such as a provider administered by a State education authority, or certain providers entitled to Commonwealth recurrent funding — from the account requirements in ss 28 and 29, but that exemption is not an exemption from the s 27 50% limit. Whether an institution is registered and how any exemption applies should be confirmed against the official legislation.

Does this mean a college invoice for 100% is automatically illegal?

Not automatically, because s 27 restricts what a provider may receive rather than what it may invoice. If the course is longer than 25 weeks and the payment is not the voluntary choice of the student or fee-payer, receiving the full 100% before the course begins falls outside the default 50% permission in s 27(1). The decisive question is whether one of the two exceptions in s 27(2) actually covers the payment.