Australia’s Department of Home Affairs has used a last-minute legislative instrument to keep the Entrepreneur stream of the Business Innovation and Investment Program (BIIP) functioning without interruption. The Migration (Complying Entrepreneur Activity – Funding Entities) Instrument 2026 (LIN 26/055) took effect on 25 September 2026, replacing the 2016 specification that was due to expire on 1 October. Although the Entrepreneur stream closed to new primary applicants in July 2024, hundreds of provisional Subclass 188 visa holders are still progressing toward permanent residence under Subclass 888. To satisfy visa criteria they must show that at least AUD 200,000 in third-party funding has been contractually committed by an “approved funding entity”. LIN 26/055 modernises the drafting but retains the existing four classes of acceptable funders: Australian government agencies, publicly-funded research bodies, registered venture-capital partnerships and listed higher-education providers. By re-making the instrument the Government averts an administrative vacuum that could have left applicants unable to prove eligibility, potentially derailing commercial projects and exposing migration agents to compensation claims. Practitioners are advised to refresh document check-lists to ensure funding agreements clearly identify the entity’s legal status and its inclusion in a prescribed class. Evidence of the amount, timing and enforceability of the investment should be retained. For corporates, the message is continuity: existing entrepreneur visa holders can keep scaling Australian ventures without fearing unexpected regulatory change. However, with the wider BIIP currently under review, business stakeholders should not assume the Entrepreneur stream will reopen, and may wish instead to explore the proposed National Innovation Visa flagged in the Government’s migration strategy.
Source: Migration Alliance
