Australia’s most significant across-the-board visa price rise in more than a decade fully kicked-in over the weekend, catching thousands of travellers, employers and education agents by surprise. Home Affairs’ 2026 Measures No. 1 Regulations—quietly tabled in parliament on 30 June but effective from 1 August—lift the first-instalment Visa Application Charge (VAC) for almost every visa subclass by 25 per cent and impose steeper increases on selected categories. The headline change is the jump in the Student (subclass 500) primary-applicant fee from A$2,000 to A$2,500, cementing Australia as the most expensive major English-speaking study destination. Universities Australia and the International Students Representative Council warned on Sunday that the sudden hike risks eroding the competitiveness of the sector just as enrolments are returning to pre-pandemic levels. Several large pathway colleges reported application portals “timing out” on Saturday night as agents rushed to lodge last-minute filings ahead of the price change. A Finder.com.au comparison shows the fee for a Resident-Return Visa (subclass 155) has more than trebled to A$1,475—an increase of 201 per cent—while the Bridging B visa now costs A$575, up from A$190. Corporate mobility teams are also recalculating relocation budgets. A Big-4 tax partner said an intra-company transfer for a family of four requiring subclass 482 temporary-skill-shortage visas will now cost employers an additional A$3,280 in government charges alone, excluding the Skilling Australians levy. “For multinationals moving regional headquarters staff into Sydney or Melbourne, that is real money,” she noted. The government argues the rises align visa revenues with processing costs and will net around A$600 million over four years—funds earmarked for clearing backlogs and modernising border technologies. However, peak bodies are urging Canberra to ring-fence part of the windfall for faster processing of graduate and skilled-worker visas, warning that unpredictable fee shocks undermine Australia’s reputation for policy stability.
Source: ABC News / Study Australia
