Australia has revised its student visa Assessment Levels for several countries in the Indian subcontinent, including India, just as the 2026 academic intake begins. The changes, effective January 8, were
communicated through the PRISMS system by the Department of Education, and reflect growing concerns over document integrity, according to a report by Australia Today.
In a statement accompanying the update, the department said the adjustments were aimed at “assisting with the effective management of emerging integrity issues, while continuing to facilitate genuine students seeking a quality education in Australia.”
Assessment Levels are used by Australian authorities to assess risk in student visa applications. Countries are graded from AL1, considered low risk, to AL3, which attracts the highest scrutiny and more stringent documentation requirements.
What Are The Changes
The last formal update to Assessment Levels was issued on September 30, 2025, making this the second revision in under four months. Unofficial analysis shared by the news outlet suggests the following changes:
- India: AL2 to AL3
- Nepal: AL2 to AL3
- Sri Lanka: AL1 to AL2
- Bangladesh: AL1 to AL3
- Bhutan: AL2 to AL3
- Pakistan: Remains at AL3
Phil Honeywood, Chief Executive Officer of the International Education Association of Australia (IEAA), told Australia Today that the timing and frequency of changes were creating uncertainty for education providers and agents.
Concerns As Intake Season Begins
“In the last 24 hours, I have had a long discussion with Minister Hill about the sector’s concerns, primarily with two aspects of the assessment level changes,” Honeywood said.
“First and foremost, the frequency of change is causing confusion among providers here and agents offshore. Secondly, at the very time we are trying to ensure a good start to the year intake, we appear again as though we are not quite sure which countries we seek to recruit from.”
Honeywood said institutions need stability and clear policy signals to plan recruitment and guide prospective students navigating shifting visa rules.
Why Australia Is Tightening Rules
Australian authorities have flagged a rise in suspected fraudulent academic and financial documents from certain South Asian countries during recent official visits to the region.
The Minister for International Education, Julian Hill, reportedly described Australia as having become “the least worst country of choice” among major study destinations such as the US, UK and Canada — prompting tougher risk filtering to protect visa integrity.
