ESOS deadlines in 2026: the 3, 5, 10, 14 and 31-day rules explained

Plain-language guide · general information, not immigration advice

The short answer is that the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 (ESOS Act) runs on two different clocks. The 3-day, 5-day and 10-day deadlines are business days, counted using the definition in section 2B of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901. The 14-day and 31-day reporting deadlines under section 19, and the 30-day and 7-day payment periods under section 23, are plain days counted on the calendar. As of September 2026, this is how the official text of the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 on the Australian Government Federal Register of Legislation sets out those periods.

Which ESOS deadlines are business days, and which are calendar days?

Clock	Period	Trigger	Who must act	Provision
Business days	3	Provider defaults in relation to overseas students or intending overseas students and a course at a location	Notify the ESOS agency and the TPS Director in writing	s 46B(2)
Business days	5	Tuition fees received before the student has begun the course	Pay the fees into the account maintained under s 28	s 29(2)
Business days	10	An event that would significantly affect the provider's ability to comply with the Act	Notify the ESOS agency	s 17A(2)
Business days	10	A change relating to a related person that cannot be determined until it takes effect	Notify the ESOS agency	s 17A(3)(b)(i)
Business days	10	Education agent ownership or control events listed in s 17A(4A)	Notify the ESOS agency	s 17A(4B)
Calendar days	14	An accepted student under 18 who does not begin the course as expected, or whose studies are terminated before completion	Give the prescribed information through the s 109 system	s 19(1A)(a)
Calendar days	31	Any other information about accepted students required by s 19(1)	Give the information through the s 109 system	s 19(1A)(b)
Calendar days	30	CRICOS annual registration charge, after the first notice	Pay the amount	s 23(1)(b)
Calendar days	7	Unpaid CRICOS charge, after the second notice	Pay the amount or registration is automatically suspended	s 23(2)(b)
Calendar days	30 (minimum)	Secretary's written request for education agent commission information	Comply by the day specified in the request	s 21B(4)

Where does the definition of "business day" come from?

The ESOS Act does not define "business day" itself. Sections 29 and 46B both point to section 2B of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 for that definition, which is why the 3-day and 5-day periods behave differently from the 14-day and 31-day periods elsewhere in the same Act. In general statutory usage in Australia, a business-day count excludes weekends and public holidays rather than running straight through the calendar; where a public holiday falls inside a short window, the practical effect is that the deadline lands later than a naive day count would suggest.

That distinction matters most for the shortest deadlines. A 3-business-day window that begins before a long weekend can stretch over several more calendar days than three, while a 31-day reporting period simply runs day by day from the event.

What triggers the 3-business-day deadline?

Section 46B applies when a registered provider defaults in relation to one or more overseas students or intending overseas students and a course at a location. Within 3 business days of the default occurring, the provider must notify, in writing, both the ESOS agency for the provider and the TPS Director.

The notice has to set out the circumstances of the default, details of the students affected, and whether — and if so how — the provider intends to discharge its obligations to those students under section 46D. Separately, subsection 46B(4) requires the provider to notify the affected students in writing as well; the Act does not attach an express number of days to that student-facing notice, and the Minister may specify notice requirements by legislative instrument under subsection (6).

What triggers the 5-business-day deadline?

Section 29 covers money, not events. If a registered provider receives, in respect of an overseas student or intending overseas student, tuition fees for a course before the student has begun that course, the fees must be paid into the credit of an account maintained under section 28 within 5 business days of receiving them. Providers covered by section 31 are not required to comply with this section.

Once the money is in the account, the provider must keep a "protected amount" standing to its credit at all times — enough to repay all tuition fees to every overseas student or intending overseas student who has paid and has not yet begun the course. That protected amount can generally only be drawn down for refunds under sections 46D, 47D or 47E, to pay an alternative provider where the provider arranges an alternative course at its own expense under section 46D, or to pay the TPS Director under section 50C. Section 29(6) adds that the protected amount is not available to pay the 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 of the provider, other than as referred to in subsection (4). A student's fees stop forming part of the protected amount once that student begins the course.

What triggers the 10-business-day deadlines?

Section 17A uses a 10-business-day clock three times. The broadest is subsection (2): any event that would significantly affect the provider's ability to comply with the Act must be reported to the ESOS agency within 10 business days after the event occurs.

The same 10-business-day period applies to a change relating to a related person of the provider where the change cannot be determined until it takes effect, and to the education agent events in subsection (4A) — for example, where the provider or an associate begins to own or control an education agent, or where an education agent or an associate begins to own or control the provider.

Two related obligations in section 17A are not measured in days at all. Prospective changes to the provider's ownership must be notified as soon as practicable before the change takes effect, and the same applies to a related-person change that can be determined in advance. Notices under the section must be given in the manner and form specified by the ESOS agency.

When does the 14-day rule apply instead of 31 days?

Section 19 requires registered providers to give information about accepted students through the computer system established by the Secretary under section 109. The default period is 31 days after the relevant event, covering matters such as the name and prescribed details of each person who becomes an accepted student, the course name, starting day and expected duration, any change in the identity or duration of the course, and any other prescribed matter.

The period drops to 14 days in one narrow situation: the student is under 18 and the information is of the kind described in paragraph (1)(c) or (d) — that is, the student did not begin the course when expected, or the student's studies were terminated before the course was completed, whether by the student, the provider or otherwise. In practice this means a provider has less than half the usual time (14 days rather than 31) to record non-commencement or early termination where a student under 18 is involved.

A separate duty in subsection 19(2) has no day count: particulars of a breach by an accepted student of a prescribed student visa condition must be given as soon as practicable after the breach occurs, and subsection (2A) makes clear that this duty continues even after the student has ceased to be an accepted student of that provider. Where the provider is an unincorporated body, the principal executive officer must give the information instead.

Where do the 30-day and 7-day periods fit?

Two more calendar-day periods sit alongside the reporting rules. Under section 23, when a provider is liable for the CRICOS annual registration charge, the Secretary gives a first written notice specifying the amount and determining that it is due at the end of the 30-day period beginning the day after that notice is given. If it is not paid by then, a second notice follows requiring payment by the end of the 7-day period beginning the day after the second notice is given; the note to the section records that failure to comply with the second notice results in automatic suspension of the provider's registration under section 90.

Under section 21B, the Secretary may request information about education agent commissions over a specified reporting period. The day specified for providing that information must be at least 30 days after the request is given, and the provider must comply before that day or any later day the Secretary allows. The request can cover the total dollar amount given to each agent, the value and description of non-monetary benefits, and the number of accepted students recruited by each agent.

What happens if a provider misses one of these deadlines?

The consequences differ by provision. For sections 17A, 19, 21B and 46B, the notes to those sections state that a breach may lead the ESOS agency to take action against the provider under Division 1 of Part 6 of the Act.

Sections 19 and 21B go further and create offences: failing to comply carries a penalty of 60 penalty units, and both offences are strict liability offences, with section 4K of the Crimes Act 1914 (continuing offences) excluded for the section 21B offence. Section 23 works differently again — non-compliance with the second notice triggers automatic suspension of registration rather than an agency decision.

Do these deadlines fall on students or on providers?

Every deadline above is owed by the registered provider, not by the student. The 3-business-day default notice goes from the provider to the ESOS agency and the TPS Director; the 5-business-day duty is about how the provider banks pre-paid fees; the 10-, 14- and 31-day duties are provider reporting obligations. A student's own obligations come from their student visa conditions and are a separate matter from the ESOS Act, and nothing here should be read as advice about an individual enrolment, refund or visa situation — the Act is amended from time to time, so the current official text and, where a decision actually turns on it, a qualified professional are the reference points.

What students can reasonably take from the day-counts is diagnostic. A provider's default reporting and tuition protection obligations are what stand behind pre-paid fees, and the 14-day non-commencement and termination reporting rule is what puts changes in enrolment on the official record sooner for students under 18.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are the 3-, 5- and 10-day ESOS deadlines business days or calendar days?

They are business days. Sections 46B(2), 29(2), 17A(2), 17A(3)(b)(i) and 17A(4B) all use "business days", and sections 29 and 46B point to section 2B of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 for the definition.

Are the 14-day and 31-day deadlines also business days?

No. Section 19(1A) refers simply to the "applicable number of days" — 14 days where the student is under 18 and the information concerns non-commencement or termination, and 31 days otherwise. These run as calendar days, not business days.

When does the 14-day period apply instead of 31 days?

Only where the accepted student is under 18 and the information is of the kind in paragraph 19(1)(c) or (d): the student did not begin the course when expected, or their studies were terminated before the course was completed. All other section 19(1) information about accepted students is reported within 31 days.

Do students have to report anything themselves within these deadlines?

The duties in sections 19, 29, 17A, 21B, 23 and 46B fall on registered providers, not on students. Section 46B(4) does require the provider to notify affected students in writing of a default, but the Act does not attach an express number of days to that notice.

What happens if a provider misses the 3-business-day default notification?

A breach of section 46B may lead the ESOS agency to take action against the provider under Division 1 of Part 6 of the ESOS Act. The 3-business-day clock applies to the written notice to the ESOS agency and the TPS Director.

How is the CRICOS annual registration charge deadline counted?

Section 23(1)(b) sets payment as due at the end of the 30-day period beginning the day after the first notice is given, and section 23(2)(b) gives a further 7-day period beginning the day after a second notice. Both are calendar-day periods, and failing to comply with the second notice results in automatic suspension of registration under section 90.

Is there a minimum notice period for education agent commission reporting?

Yes. Under section 21B(4), the day specified in the Secretary's written request must be at least 30 days after the request is given to the provider, and the provider must comply by that day or any later day the Secretary allows. Failure to comply is an offence carrying 60 penalty units.