Australia Student Visa Health Requirements: What to Know

For an Australian student visa, you must meet the health requirement. This means you may need to complete health examinations, and the results are valid for 12 months from the time you complete them. The Department of Home Affairs may ask you to provide them again if they expire before your visa is decided. Meeting the health requirement is a legislative condition for the grant of any visa, and the Department will assess your circumstances against it. The specific examinations you need depend on your country of residence and your intended activities in Australia, so you must check the official health requirements page for your personal situation.

Health Examinations for a Student Visa

Health examinations are a standard part of the student visa application process. You can complete your health examinations after you apply, but you should refer to the visa processing times before you book them. This is because the results of your health assessment are valid for 12 months from the time you complete your examinations. If the Department asks you to sign a health undertaking, that undertaking is valid for 6 months.

If your health examination results expire before the Department decides your visa, they may ask you to provide them again. This can add time to your application. To avoid this, you should arrange your examinations early and keep your application complete.

The Department will notify you if you need to complete health examinations. You cannot choose your own doctor for these examinations; you must use a panel physician approved by the Department. The panel physician will send the results directly to the Department.

What the Health Requirement Assesses

The health requirement exists to protect the Australian community. The Department assesses whether you are likely to be a threat to public health or public safety, and whether you are likely to result in significant costs to the Australian community in health and community services. If you do not meet this requirement, your visa application may be refused.

There is no fixed list of conditions that automatically cause a refusal. The assessment is individual and considers your specific circumstances, including the nature of any medical condition and the likely costs or risks. You must declare all relevant health information honestly in your application. If you do not, the Department may refuse your application for providing false or misleading information.

Health Examinations and Processing Times

Health examinations are one of the factors that affect how long your visa takes to process. The Department’s processing times page notes that processing times vary for many reasons, including how long it takes to receive information from external agencies, particularly relating to health, character and national security requirements. This means that if you are asked to complete health examinations, your application may take longer while those results are assessed.

The median processing time for Student visas in July 2026 was 21 days. This is a median figure, not a guarantee for your application. Your application may take longer, particularly if additional information is requested or if health assessments take time to complete. The Department recommends that you lodge your application well in advance of course commencement and with all supporting documentation.

Student Visa Processing Priorities

Student visa applications lodged outside Australia are processed according to a Ministerial Direction. Applications lodged before 14 November 2025 are processed according to Ministerial Direction 111, and applications lodged on or after 14 November 2025 are processed according to Ministerial Direction 115. These directions set out processing priorities for Student visa applications.

If you are lodging your application on or after 14 November 2025, Ministerial Direction 115 applies. The Department recommends that you lodge your application well in advance of course commencement and with all supporting documentation. A complete application helps avoid delays.

Subsequent Temporary Application Charge and Student Visas

The subsequent temporary application charge (STAC) applies to certain temporary visas, including the Student visa (subclass 500). This charge is payable by each person in your application and is based on their individual visa history. It is payable in addition to any other visa charges that apply at the time of lodgement.

The STAC is not paid for permanent visas, bridging visas, criminal justice visas, or enforcement visas. It also will not be charged if the base application charge for your application is nil, if the visa pricing table does not show a STAC, or if the STAC is shown as nil or N/A. Other exemptions apply if you are outside Australia when making your substantive temporary visa application, or if you are making your first substantive temporary visa application in Australia.

The STAC is calculated for each applicant using a four-step formula. The charge applies only if you are in Australia applying for a visa specified in Table 1, you hold or last held a visa specified in Table 2, you applied for that Table 2 visa while in Australia, and none of the specific exemptions in step 4 apply. The Student visa (subclass 500) appears in both Table 1 and Table 2, so it is possible for the STAC to apply if you are applying for a further Student visa in Australia and your previous Student visa was also applied for in Australia.

What to Do Next

Before you apply for a student visa, you should check the official health requirements page on the Department of Home Affairs website to understand what examinations you need. You should also check the visa pricing table to verify the charges that apply to you, including whether the subsequent temporary application charge applies. Lodge your application well in advance of course commencement, and submit all necessary supporting documents at the time of applying. If you are asked to complete health examinations, do so promptly, and be aware that the results are valid for 12 months. If your application is still within the standard processing time, do not contact the Department for an update; you can check your application status through ImmiAccount.