The Australian Government has announced a new Ministerial Direction designed to support a more balanced and sustainable distribution of international students across both regional and metropolitan education providers.
The new Ministerial Direction 115, which replaces Direction 111, will take effect from Friday, 14 November 2025, and forms part of the Government’s broader strategy to ensure quality, integrity, and sustainability within the international education system.
A press release issued by The Hon Julian Hill, Assistant Minister for International Education and Assistant Minister for Citizenship, Customs and Multicultural Affairs states “Throughout 2025 we have seen the positive effect of a managed growth approach across the sector – returning student numbers to a more sustainable level. Growth has moderated, with student lodgements down by over 26% last year and commencements down on last year by 16%.”
The introduction of Direction 115 aligns with the 2026 National Planning Level for international student places, announced in August, and ensures visa processing and provider capacity remain closely aligned.
Under the new direction, visa processing resources will be distributed across the sector. Providers that maintain their international enrolments within the indicative allocations of the National Planning Level will be afforded higher visa processing priority.
Conversely, those that exceed 115% of their National Overseas Student Capacity (NOSC) allocation risk being placed in what will effectively be a Priority 3 visa processing category, leading to longer processing times for their students.
The new framework also aims to better support smaller vocational education and training (VET) providers, promoting fairer allocation and utilisation of student places across all education types.
Information sessions for providers will be held in November and December to outline how Direction 115 will operate in practice.
IEAA Chief Executive Phil Honeywood confirmed that Assistant Minister for Education and Regional Development Julian Hill had formally signed off on the new direction earlier today.
“I was advised today by Assistant Minister Julian Hill that he has just signed off on a new Ministerial Direction 115 to replace the current 111,” Mr Honeywood said. The new Direction comes into effect this Friday, 14 November.
Key features include:
- The changes are not a significant departure from Direction 111.
- The new Direction incorporates the recently announced NOSC exemptions for public providers, including additional PBSA accommodation provision, Southeast Asia market diversification and transnational education (TNE) delivery.
- It introduces a new restriction whereby providers cannot exceed 115% of their NOSC allocation without being moved into what will effectively be a Priority 3 visa processing category.”
The new Ministerial Direction can be found here.
