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Australia is continuing its tough crackdown on VET courses, announcing that international students can no longer enrol in the Graduate Diploma of Management, with only a one-month transition period.
Assistant Minister for Education Julian Hill issued a media release, after which schools also received a notice (header image).
- From 5 October 2026, schools will no longer be able to issue COEs or accept new students, and students will not be able to commence their courses after that date. COEs for courses commencing after the 5th will be automatically cancelled, so anyone planning to study or renew their visa must complete all procedures within one month.
- Students who are currently enrolled can still complete their course.
The Two Main Ways Management GD Courses Were Previously Used
VET GD and diploma courses were once a low-cost option for applying for and renewing visas. Management courses led the pack, with two main uses.
- After a Subclass 485 expired, students used diploma and GD courses to obtain another student visa, allowing them to remain in Australia at low cost while accumulating points. A few years ago, as invitation points kept rising, many international students had no choice but to take this route. With student visa assessment becoming stricter and Subclass 485 holders unable to switch to a student visa onshore, few people now take this route, and those seeking another student visa tend to choose higher education instead.
- The other “loophole” drew even stronger government opposition and had previously been raised publicly many times. After entering Australia through higher education (for example, a bachelor’s degree), students would switch to a certificate+diploma package and then add a GD course. Because a GD is Level 8 while a bachelor’s degree is Level 7, this theoretically did not constitute studying at a lower level, so a new visa application was not required (image 2).
Practical Options for Affected International Students
What to do—
As far as I understand, very few students are now studying or preparing to study a management GD. Only a tiny number who genuinely cannot afford higher education would take the risk. If you are affected and cannot obtain a COE and commence your course before 5 October, you will need to change courses. I do not recommend switching to a GD in another field, because the government’s position is clear: it is continuing to crack down on VET courses and is controlling access at the source. If you cannot apply, there can be no subsequent assessment, refusal or appeal.
If you do switch, I recommend choosing a higher education course. Whether that should be a bachelor’s or master’s programme depends on your own academic background and personal circumstances.
This change also makes Australian student visa applications more difficult. Although it mainly affects onshore applicants, applying offshore for VET has long been feasible only in theory, with visas almost never granted. This is even more so for offshore applicants aged around 30 who want to return to studying and pursue migration: even applying for higher education carries relatively high risk. The realistic recommendation is New Zealand.
