From 2026, unused CRICOS registration can lapse in 12 months — what does it mean for me?

Plain-language guide · general information, not immigration advice

Yes — from 2026 a CRICOS registration can end on its own. Under section 92A of the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 (the ESOS Act), a registered provider that is not an approved school provider and delivers no courses to any overseas students at any location for 12 consecutive months has its registration cancelled automatically at the end of that period — by force of the provision itself, not by a separate decision. According to the Federal Register of Legislation's current text of the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000, checked as at September 2026, that cancellation covers every course and every location on the registration. This is a plain-language summary of the two provisions for general reference; it is not advice about any individual enrolment or visa matter, so for anything that affects your own situation rely on the official text and on qualified professional advice.

When does the 12-month measurement period actually start?

The clock is the "measurement period": a period of 12 consecutive months beginning on or after 1 January 2026. Nothing that happened before 1 January 2026 counts towards it, because only a period that starts on or after that date qualifies.

The starting line is not a single fixed date for every provider. The text describes any 12-consecutive-month window whose beginning falls on or after 1 January 2026, so the first window that can trigger cancellation is one starting on 1 January 2026 and running for twelve months from that date; later windows can begin later. In practice, whether a given provider is approaching the end of such a window depends on when it last delivered a course to an overseas student.

Which providers are covered, and which are not?

The rule in section 92A applies only to a provider that is not an approved school provider. Approved school providers sit outside this automatic cancellation mechanism entirely — they are the express carve-out in the opening words of the provision. Every other kind of registered provider falls within the provision's scope, so the exemption is defined by the school-provider status rather than by size, sector or how long the provider has been registered.

That distinction matters more than it first appears. Holding a CRICOS registration is what allows a provider to recruit and enrol overseas students; it is also the thing that the automatic cancellation removes. Being listed on the Register today does not tell you whether the provider is currently teaching anyone — and section 92A is precisely concerned with registrations that have gone unused.

What exactly triggers the cancellation?

Three conditions have to stack up. The provider must be a non-school registered provider, and during the measurement period it must have provided no courses, at any location, to any overseas students. Each of those words does work: the trigger is total inactivity towards overseas students, not the closure of one campus or the withdrawal of one course.

Reading from that text, teaching at even a single location, or to a single overseas student, means the condition "does not provide any courses at any location to any overseas students" is not met. The provision looks at delivery to overseas students specifically, so an operation that teaches domestic students only does not, on the face of the provision, avoid the trigger.

Note also what is not stated: nothing turns on the provider's intentions, its financial position, or whether it was actively marketing. Absence of delivery is the whole test.

What happens the moment the 12 months run out?

Subject to an extension being granted under section 92B, the registration is cancelled at the end of the measurement period for all courses, for all locations. There is no partial outcome in this mechanism — a registration cannot survive for the courses or campuses that were still being used.

Two administrative steps follow. The ESOS agency for the provider must give the provider written notice stating that registration has been cancelled, and where that agency is not the Secretary, it must notify the Secretary. A note to the provision records that the Secretary must then cause the Register to be altered to reflect the cancellation (section 14B), which is why the public Register, rather than any announcement, is where the change shows up.

Is there any way to stop the clock?

Yes, and this is the part that is easy to miss. Section 92B lets a registered provider apply to its ESOS agency to extend a measurement period. The main constraints are:

Requirement	What section 92B says
Timing	The application must be made at least 90 days before the measurement period would otherwise end
Form	It must be in a form approved by the ESOS agency for the provider, if such a form exists
Decision	The agency may extend the period in writing
Number of extensions	A period may be extended more than once, so repeat applications are possible
Total limit	All extensions combined must not exceed 12 months

The 90-day lead time is the practically important number: an application made after that point does not satisfy the provision's requirement. The 12-month cumulative cap is equally firm — extensions can buy time, but not unlimited time.

Extensions are discretionary. The provision says the agency "may" extend, so lodging a timely application does not guarantee an outcome, and nothing in these sections sets criteria for how that discretion is exercised.

So what does this mean for someone choosing or holding a place?

The direct legal effect recorded in these provisions is narrow and worth stating precisely: the provider loses its registration across the board, is notified in writing, and the Register is updated. Anything beyond that — how cancellation interacts with a particular enrolment, confirmation of enrolment or visa — is not addressed in sections 92A and 92B themselves, so those questions need to be checked against official student visa and tuition assurance guidance rather than inferred from this text.

What you can reasonably take from the provisions is a way of reading risk. "Registered" and "currently delivering" are two different facts, and only the first appears on the Register. Because the measurement period began counting from 1 January 2026 and runs for twelve months at a time, an unused registration is a status that can change quietly, without a public announcement from the provider.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the 12-month period start on 1 January 2026 for everyone?

No. The measurement period is any 12 consecutive months that begins on or after 1 January 2026, and the earliest window therefore starts on that date. A provider's exposure depends on when its own unbroken run of non-delivery began.

Are schools affected by this rule?

Approved school providers are excluded. Section 92A applies only where the registered provider is not an approved school provider, so the automatic cancellation mechanism does not reach them; other registered providers are within scope.

Is closing one campus or dropping one course enough to trigger it?

Not on its own. The trigger requires that the provider delivered no courses to any overseas students at any location during the whole 12-month period, so continued delivery somewhere to some overseas students means the condition is not met.

Can a provider get more than 12 months of grace?

The total of all extensions together must not exceed 12 months, even though extensions can be granted more than once. A timely application must reach the ESOS agency at least 90 days before the measurement period would otherwise end.

How would anyone find out that a registration was cancelled?

The ESOS agency must give the provider written notice, and must notify the Secretary where the agency is not itself the Secretary. The Secretary must then have the Register altered, so the Register is where the cancellation is recorded.

Does the cancellation only strip the unused course or location?

No. Cancellation operates on all courses for all locations at once, so a partly active registration does not partly survive. Subject to an extension under section 92B, this happens automatically at the end of the measurement period.