Do I have to update my address with my Australian college in 2026?
No — there is no student-side duty in section 21 of the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 (ESOS Act): the legal duty sits with your provider, which must keep each accepted student's current residential address, mobile phone number (if any) and email address (if any); have a procedure ensuring those details are confirmed with you in writing at least every six months while you remain an accepted student; and keep the records for at least two years after you stop being one. This reflects the official text published by the Federal Register of Legislation on its Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 s 21 Record keeping page, as of the September 2026 version used here. Failing to comply is an offence by the provider, carrying a maximum penalty of 60 penalty units.
What exactly must my provider keep on file about me?
The Act lists the contents of a student record by name, so there is no room for a provider to decide what matters.
| Field | What s 21 requires | Conditional? |
|---|---|---|
| Residential address | The student's current residential address | No — required for every accepted student |
| Mobile phone number | The student's mobile number | Yes — only "(if any)" |
| Email address | The student's email address | Yes — only "(if any)" |
| Other prescribed details | Anything further set out in the regulations | Only if the regulations prescribe it |
The duty covers anyone who is an accepted student enrolled with the provider, and also anyone who has paid tuition fees for a course the provider offers. So the obligation can attach before teaching starts, and it does not depend on you attending classes.
Is my phone number treated the same way as my address?
No, and the wording difference is deliberate. The residential address is stated unconditionally, while the mobile and email entries carry the qualifier "if any" — the Act assumes every student has somewhere they live, but not that every student has a phone or an inbox. In practice that means a missing address leaves a gap the law does not permit, whereas a missing mobile number is only a problem if you actually have one.
How often will my college come back to me about these details?
At least every six months, for as long as you remain an accepted student. Section 21(2A) requires providers to run a procedure that does two things: confirm those same details in writing with you, and update the records accordingly. Two consequences follow. First, the cycle repeats on a fixed cadence rather than waiting for something to change, so you can expect the check regularly. Second, the closing of the loop matters: confirming is not enough, the record itself has to be corrected when you answer.
Because the mechanism is written confirmation to the details on file, an old address or an abandoned student email inbox is self-reinforcing — each six-monthly round of written confirmation is directed at whichever contact points the provider already holds.
What happens if the record is wrong or outdated?
The enforcement consequences in s 21 fall on the provider, not on you. A registered provider that fails to comply commits an offence with a maximum penalty of 60 penalty units, and the Act specifies that this is a strict liability offence, referring the reader to section 6.1 of the Criminal Code. Where the provider is an unincorporated body, the duty to keep and retain records shifts to the principal executive officer. Separately, a note to the section records that if a provider breaches it, the ESOS agency for that provider may take action under Division 1 of Part 6 against the provider. Nothing in this section prescribes a penalty for the student.
Read all of this as general information about what the legislation requires, not as advice on your own situation; your enrolment terms and any later amendments may differ, so the official legislative text stays the controlling source.
Does failing to answer the six-month check affect me?
Section 21 does not spell out a consequence for a student who ignores the check, and it sets no student-side penalty here — the provider simply remains bound to hold accurate details. The practical exposure sits on your side of the exchange rather than in the statute.
Take a clearly hypothetical case: suppose a student moves flats in March and waits for the provider's next scheduled confirmation instead of saying anything. Nothing in s 21 punishes that silence. But the record still carries the March address, the written confirmation goes out to the wrong letterbox, and any subsequent message keyed to that record is unlikely to arrive. The record the law requires the provider to keep is also the record everything the provider sends you depends on.
How long are these records kept after I stop studying?
At least two years. Section 21(3) sets the retention period as two years running from the moment the person ceases to be an accepted student, which is the trigger rather than course completion, graduation, or visa status. Immediately after that point the updating duty ends: the records no longer need to be kept up to date, only kept. Because the Act states a floor rather than a ceiling, a provider keeping the file for longer than two years is not doing anything s 21 forbids.
Assessment records are governed separately. Under subsections (2B) and (2C), when an accepted student completes a unit of study that is assessed, the provider must record the assessment outcome, keep it as the regulations require, and keep it up to date — requirements that apply while the record must be maintained, distinct from the two-year post-enrolment retention of contact details.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I legally have to tell my college I have moved, or does the college have to ask me?
Under s 21 the duty runs in both directions in practice: the provider must hold your current residential address and must confirm it with you in writing at least every six months, while you supply the information it asks for. The statute penalises the provider for non-compliance, not the student.
What counts as a "current residential address"?
The Act uses the phrase "current residential address" without defining it as an Australian or an overseas address, and without explaining what counts as residential. What the text makes clear is that whatever is recorded must be current, and that it is the address to which the six-monthly written confirmation is directed.
Is there a fine for students who do not update their address?
Section 21 does not set one. The stated offence and its maximum penalty of 60 penalty units apply to the registered provider, or to the principal executive officer where the provider is an unincorporated body.
How often will my college contact me to confirm my details?
At least once every six months while you remain an accepted student, in writing, under a procedure the provider is required to have in place. The provider must then update its records to match whatever you confirm.
How long after I finish or leave is my information retained?
At least two years from the date you cease to be an accepted student. The provider does not have to keep those records up to date once you have ceased, only retain them for that period or longer.
Does the six-month confirmation also cover my grades?
No. Progress results are handled under separate subsections: when you complete an assessed unit, the provider records the assessment outcome and must keep that record up to date. Those requirements run alongside the contact-detail rules rather than inside them.