What changed in Australia's student reporting rules in 2026 — and who do the new ESOS application provisions apply to?

Plain-language guide · general information, not immigration advice

If you became an accepted student before the commencement date, section 31(1) does not re-trigger the amended section 9 duties for you; but if you are still enrolled with a registered provider, or pay any tuition fees, on or after the relevant commencement date, the section 13 limbs in sections 30(2) and 31(2) can still apply to you. The test these provisions use is a point in time, not your status as a student. As of September 2026, the official compilation of the ESOS Regulations 2019 published on the Federal Register of Legislation records the Education Services for Overseas Students Amendment (Integrity Measures) Regulations 2025 as registered on 15 December 2025 (F2025L01587) and commenced on 16 December 2025 (subsection 2(1) items 2 and 3).

That instrument amended sections 5, 8, 9, 11 and 13 of the ESOS Regulations 2019 and added a new Division 2 to Part 5 containing sections 30 and 31. Those two added provisions are the whole answer to "does this apply to me?": they say which students the amended duties attach to, and they do it by reference to dates rather than to nationality, course level or visa status.

What exactly changed, and when did it take effect?

The amending instrument is the Education Services for Overseas Students Amendment (Integrity Measures) Regulations 2025. Its registration date is 15 December 2025 and, per the legislation history in the compilation, it commenced on 16 December 2025 under subsection 2(1) items 2 and 3.

Three of the amended provisions are the ones students notice:

Section 9 prescribes the details a registered provider must hold about a person who becomes an accepted student (for paragraph 19(1)(a) of the ESOS Act).
Section 11 prescribes other matters relating to accepted students that a provider must give after specified events, within the applicable number of days within the meaning of subsection 19(1A) of the ESOS Act.
Section 13 prescribes the details that must be included in the records a registered provider keeps for each accepted student who is enrolled with the provider or who has paid any tuition fees.

Sections 30 and 31 were added at the same time and sit after those provisions for one reason: to stop the amendments from reaching back over students who were already in the system.

Why are there two application rules instead of one?

Because the amending instrument is split into two parts, and each part is tied to a different commencement reference. Section 30 deals with amendments made by Part 1 of Schedule 1; section 31 deals with amendments made by Part 2 of Schedule 1. Part 1's amendments are keyed to the commencement of the Education Legislation Amendment (Integrity and Other Measures) Act 2025. Part 2's amendments are keyed to the commencement of the Regulations themselves.

Section 13 is amended by both parts, which is why it appears twice — once in section 30(2) for the Part 1 amendments and once in section 31(2) for the Part 2 amendments.

Application provision	Amendments covered	Students it applies to	Timing anchor
Section 30(1)	Section 11 (Part 1 of Schedule 1)	Accepted students who are accepted for enrolment, or enrolled, in a course provided by a registered provider	On or after the commencement of the Education Legislation Amendment (Integrity and Other Measures) Act 2025
Section 30(2)	Section 13 (Part 1 of Schedule 1)	Accepted students who are enrolled with a registered provider, or who have paid any tuition fees for a course provided by the provider	Same as above
Section 31(1)	Section 9 (Part 2 of Schedule 1)	Persons who become accepted students of a registered provider	On or after the commencement of the Amendment Regulations (16 December 2025)
Section 31(2)	Section 13 (Part 2 of Schedule 1)	Accepted students who are enrolled with a registered provider, or who have paid any tuition fees for a course provided by the provider	Same as above

One practical gap is worth naming: the compilation gives the Regulations' commencement date of 16 December 2025, but section 30 points to the commencement of the Education Legislation Amendment (Integrity and Other Measures) Act 2025. The date of that Act's commencement is not stated in this compilation and should be confirmed against that Act's own entry on the Federal Register of Legislation.

I'm already partway through my course — do I have to re-sign anything?

Nothing in sections 30 or 31 imposes a step on a student, and neither says an existing student must sign a fresh agreement. They are application provisions: they decide whose details the amended obligations attach to. Whether you are inside or outside them comes down to which of the following descriptions fits you.

The "became an accepted student" limb (section 31(1), section 9). This applies to persons who become accepted students of a registered provider on or after 16 December 2025. A student who became an accepted student before that date does not re-trigger this limb simply by continuing to study.

The "accepted for enrolment or enrolled" limb (section 30(1), section 11). This applies to accepted students who are accepted for enrolment, or enrolled, in a course on or after the commencement of the Act.

The "enrolled or paid tuition fees" limb (sections 30(2) and 31(2), section 13). This is the one continuing students need to read carefully, because it is written in the alternative: it reaches accepted students who are enrolled with a registered provider, or who have paid any tuition fees for a course, on or after the commencement date. A student who is no longer enrolled with the provider and who had already paid every tuition fee before that date sits outside both alternatives. A student whose enrolment continues across the date, or who pays a tuition fee instalment on or after it, falls within the wording of that limb.

Assume, as an illustration, a student who became an accepted student in July 2025, enrolled and paid the first instalment at that time, and pays the next instalment in January 2026. On that hypothetical set of facts, the section 9 limb is not triggered by the original acceptance in July 2025, while the January 2026 payment is on or after 16 December 2025 and comes within the section 13 wording.

Which test applies to me — the day I became an accepted student, or the day I enrol or pay?

Both, depending on the provision. The drafting deliberately uses two different anchors because the underlying duties attach at different moments in a student's life with a provider.

Becoming an accepted student is the anchor for the section 9 amendment under section 31(1). It is a one-off moment, so a student either crossed it before or after 16 December 2025.
Enrolment, or paying tuition fees, is the anchor for the section 13 amendments under sections 30(2) and 31(2). Because enrolment and fee payment can recur, a single student can move from outside to inside these provisions as their course progresses.
Being accepted for enrolment, or being enrolled, is the anchor for the section 11 amendment under section 30(1). Note the subtle difference in wording: section 11 speaks of a student "accepted for enrolment, or enrolled, in a course", while section 13 speaks of a student "enrolled with a registered provider" or one who has paid tuition fees.

For a returning student, the questions to line up are therefore: when did I become an accepted student, when was I accepted for enrolment or enrolled in this course, and does any tuition fee payment by me fall on or after the commencement date?

What do the amended provisions actually cover?

Section 9 — details about a person who becomes an accepted student. These include the student's residential address, phone number and email address; gender; date of birth; country of birth; nationality; and, where the student is under 18, the name, residential address, phone number and email address of a person other than the provider who has legal authority to act on the student's behalf, plus that person's relationship to the student. They also cover course details: the unique identifier of the course, its location, the agreed starting day and the expected completion day; the total tuition fees paid and, where the provider is not a public provider, the period those fees relate to; total non-tuition fees paid; and the total tuition fees required to undertake the course, including amounts already paid. Where the student was in Australia when becoming an accepted student, the passport number is included, and where the student holds an Australian visa, the visa number is included.

Section 9 also prescribes English test information. Where undertaking a particular test is a requirement specified under paragraph 500.213(3)(a) of Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations 1994, and the student has undertaken that test (whether or not for a Subclass 500 visa), the prescribed details are the name of the test, the day the student undertook it, the score received, and either or both the unique identifier for the test result or the student's unique student reference number, whichever is applicable. Separately, where the student holds or has applied for a Subclass 500 visa and, at the time of application, was within a class of applicants specified under paragraph 500.213(3)(b), that class is itself a prescribed detail.

Section 11 — events that trigger reporting. The information listed in the section 11 table must be given within the applicable number of days after the event in column 1 occurs, subject to any condition in column 2. The events include: the student becoming an accepted student of the provider (where an education agent engaged in recruitment activity in relation to the student); the student becoming accepted for enrolment in a course where they were already an accepted student of that provider because of another course; the provider becoming aware that details mentioned in paragraph 9(a) have changed; the provider becoming aware that details mentioned in paragraph 9(f) have changed, where the student is under 18; the course not beginning when expected, but only where paragraph 19(1)(c) of the ESOS Act does not apply; the student changing course; a change in the duration of the course; a change in the location at which the course is provided; deferment or suspension of the student's studies; a change to the end date of that deferment or suspension; the provider giving particulars under subsection 19(2) of the Act of a breach by the student of a student visa condition; and termination of the student's studies before the course is completed.

The agent details themselves are extensive where the condition is met: the agent's name; the address of its principal place of business; if it is a body corporate, the address of its registered office; its postal address if different; its phone number, email address and website address; its ABN or ACN; any trading names; if it is a body corporate, the names of its directors; its Migration Agents Registration Number if it is a registered migration agent; and, for each employee involved in the recruitment activity, the employee's name and email address and, where applicable, their Migration Agents Registration Number.

Section 13 — records the provider must keep. For each accepted student enrolled with the provider or who has paid tuition fees, the records must include the total tuition fees paid for the course; for each amount paid, whether it was for the full course or part of it and the relevant duration; total non-tuition fees paid; the combined total of tuition and non-tuition fees paid; any tuition or non-tuition fees that have become payable but remain unpaid; copies of written agreements to which the provider and student are parties; and the amount the student will be charged to access their own records. Where an education agent engaged, or is engaging, in recruitment activity in relation to the student, the records must include the same agent and employee details described above. The records must also include the English test details — test name, day taken, score, and the unique test result identifier or unique student reference number — on the same basis as under section 9.

What this compilation does not settle

Three things are outside what this text records, and each should be checked against the current official compilation rather than assumed. First, the commencement date of the Education Legislation Amendment (Integrity and Other Measures) Act 2025, which is the anchor section 30 uses. Second, the actual number of days allowed for reporting under section 11, which is defined by subsection 19(1A) of the ESOS Act rather than by the Regulations. Third, compilations are updated over time; the version consulted here is the one current as of September 2026.

This article is general information about how the published rules are drafted and is not advice about any individual situation — where the dates actually matter for you, rely on the official text and, if the consequences are significant, on a qualified professional.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the 16 December 2025 start date mean every international student is covered?

No. Sections 30 and 31 confine the amended provisions to students who meet a specific timing condition — becoming an accepted student, being accepted for enrolment or enrolled, or paying tuition fees, on or after the relevant commencement. Students who fall outside those timing conditions remain governed by the earlier wording.

I'm a continuing student. Can I be brought into the new rules without re-signing anything?

Yes, in principle, through the section 13 limbs. Sections 30(2) and 31(2) apply to accepted students who are enrolled with a registered provider, or who have paid any tuition fees, on or after commencement — the wording is in the alternative, so continuing enrolment or a later fee payment can bring a student within it without any new agreement being signed.

What is the difference between "becoming an accepted student" and "being accepted for enrolment"?

Section 9 is framed around a person becoming an accepted student of a registered provider, and section 31(1) uses that moment as its trigger. Section 11 is framed around a student being accepted for enrolment, or enrolled, in a course, and section 30(1) uses that as its trigger. The distinction matters because a student can be an accepted student of a provider and later become accepted for enrolment in another course with the same provider.

Does the amendment mean my provider now has to record my English test results?

Sections 9 and 13 both prescribe English test details — the name of the test, the day it was undertaken, the score received, and the unique identifier for the result or the student's unique student reference number. This applies where undertaking that test is a requirement specified under paragraph 500.213(3)(a) of Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations 1994 and the student has undertaken it, whether or not it was taken for a Subclass 500 visa.

Why does section 30 refer to an Act while section 31 refers to the Regulations?

Because they cover different parts of the same amending instrument. Section 30 covers the amendments made by Part 1 of Schedule 1 and ties them to the commencement of the Education Legislation Amendment (Integrity and Other Measures) Act 2025; section 31 covers the amendments made by Part 2 of Schedule 1 and ties them to the commencement of the Amendment Regulations, which the compilation records as 16 December 2025.

Do the new rules require education agent details to be reported?

Both section 11 and section 13 contain detailed education agent requirements, but they are conditional. Under section 11 the agent information is required where an education agent engaged in recruitment activity in relation to the student; under section 13 it is required where an agent engaged, or is engaging, in that recruitment activity. The details run to names, business and registered addresses, contact details, ABN or ACN, trading names, directors, and Migration Agents Registration Numbers where applicable.