Australia's 2026 education agent commission rules: what changed from 21 January 2026

Australia's education agent commission rules changed on 21 January 2026, when the National Code of Practice for Providers of Education and Training to Overseas Students Amendment (Education Agent Commissions) Instrument 2026 (F2026L00033, registered 20 January 2026) commenced and inserted two new provisions, Standard 4.7 and Standard 4.8, into the National Code of Practice for Providers of Education and Training for Overseas Students 2018. Standard 4.7 sets the default position: a registered provider must not give an education agent commission where that commission relates to the recruitment of an overseas student who has already commenced studying in a course with another registered provider. Standard 4.8 then reopens three situations in which the commission is permitted. This reading follows the compiled instrument text on the Federal Register of Legislation — National Code of Practice for Providers of Education and Training for Overseas Students 2018 (F2017L01182), as of September 2026.

What does Standard 4.7 actually prohibit?

Standard 4.7 is directed at the provider, not at the agent. The obligation is on the registered provider: it "must not give" the commission. So the compliance question sits with the institution that would be paying, even though the behaviour the rule targets is recruitment activity carried out by the agent.

Two elements have to line up before the prohibition bites. First, the payment must be "in relation to the recruitment" of the student. The National Code 2018 definitions describe recruitment as the pre-enrolment process of engaging and assisting overseas students (or a parent or guardian where the student is under 18) to apply for a place in a course with a provider, leading up to formal enrolment — including help with administrative issues and the issuing of a CoE for a student visa application. Second, the student must have commenced studying in a course with another registered provider. A registered provider is, as defined in section 5 of the ESOS Act, a provider registered to provide the course at that location.

The practical effect is that the rule is about when the student is picked up, not about who the student is. A student already sitting in a classroom at another CRICOS-registered provider is the trigger.

When can a provider still pay a commission? The three gateways in Standard 4.8

Standard 4.8 does not create a general exemption. It permits the commission only in relation to the recruitment of an overseas student who falls into one of three limbs.

Limb	Condition in the instrument	What it turns on
4.8.1 (timing)	The student becomes an accepted student of the provider on or before 31 March 2026	The date the student becomes an accepted student of that provider
4.8.2 (visa-covered courses)	The commission is for courses delivered by the provider, as specified in the CoEs, for which the student's student visa was granted	What the CoEs and the visa grant record actually cover
4.8.3 (after the principal course)	The course commences after the student's completion of their principal course of study with the other registered provider	When the new course starts relative to completion of the principal course

Read together, the limbs are alternatives: any one of them is enough to take the payment outside Standard 4.7. None of them requires the other two.

How does the 31 March 2026 date work?

Standard 4.8.1 is a time-limited gateway, and it is the only limb expressed as a calendar date. It covers a student who becomes an accepted student of the provider on or before 31 March 2026 — a date that sits about ten weeks after the instrument commenced on 21 January 2026.

It is easy to misread this as the date the whole rule starts. It is not: Standard 4.7 applied from 21 January 2026. The 31 March 2026 date works the other way round — it is the last day on which the "already accepted" pathway is available, and after that date a provider can no longer rely on it for a newly accepted student.

What does "courses specified in the CoEs for which the visa was granted" cover?

Standard 4.8.2 ties the commission to documents rather than to intentions. The course must be one delivered by the provider, it must be specified in the CoEs, and those CoEs must be the ones for which the student's visa was granted.

The definitions section helps here: a Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE) is an electronic document issued by the registered provider to intending overseas students which must accompany their application for a student visa, and which confirms the student's eligibility to enrol in that particular course. So the check is documentary. If a packaged arrangement put several courses on the CoEs behind the visa grant, the visa-covered courses are the ones identified there; a course outside those CoEs is outside 4.8.2, even if the same provider offers it.

Where does the "principal course of study" fit in?

Standard 4.8.3 uses a defined term, and the definition does real work. The principal course of study is the main course of study to be undertaken by an overseas student where a student visa has been issued for multiple courses of study; it would normally be the final course of study where the student arrives in Australia with a student visa covering multiple courses.

That means 4.8.3 is not a general "the student is nearly finished" allowance. The condition is that the new course commences after the student completes their principal course of study with the other registered provider. For a student holding a visa over a package of courses, the principal course is normally the last one in the package, so the timing test runs against that course's completion, not against an earlier preliminary course.

Is this a blanket ban on commissions for transferring students?

No — and this is the most common misreading. Standard 4.7 opens with "Unless Standard 4.8 applies", so the prohibition and the permission are two halves of one test. A commission is barred only when the student has commenced study elsewhere and none of the three 4.8 limbs is satisfied.

It also does not touch every commission. A student recruited offshore who has not commenced study with another registered provider falls outside Standard 4.7 altogether, and the general agent obligations in Standard 4 continue to apply to that recruitment.

What else applies to agents alongside the commission rule?

The amending instrument added the commission provisions to an existing standard. The rest of Standard 4 still governs the relationship. Under 4.1 the provider must have a written agreement with each agent it engages to formally represent it and must enter and maintain the agent's details in PRISMS — the Provider Registration and International Student Management System used to process information given to the Secretary of DET by registered providers.

Standard 4.3 sets what the provider must require of the agent, including that the agent declares in writing and takes reasonable steps to avoid conflicts of interest with its duties as an agent, observes appropriate levels of confidentiality and transparency in dealings with overseas students, acts honestly and in good faith and in the best interests of the student, and has appropriate knowledge of the international education system in Australia, including the Australian International Education and Training Agent Code of Ethics. Where a provider becomes aware, or has reason to believe, that an agent or its employee or subcontractor is engaging in false or misleading recruitment practices, Standard 4.5 requires immediate termination of the relationship, or termination of the relationship with the individual concerned. Standard 4.6 separately bars accepting students from an agent known or reasonably suspected of, among other things, dishonest recruitment practices including a deliberate attempt to recruit a student where this clearly conflicts with the provider's obligations under Standard 7 (Overseas student transfers).

What does a commission check look like in practice?

Suppose an applicant enrolled with Provider A, has started classes there, and an agent now brings that student to Provider B. Under Standard 4.7 the starting answer is that Provider B must not pay a commission. Provider B can pay only if it can identify a limb of Standard 4.8 and evidence it: the student became an accepted student of Provider B on or before 31 March 2026, or the course is one of the courses specified in the CoEs for which the visa was granted, or the course commences after the student completes their principal course of study with Provider A.

The three tests are decided by different evidence — an acceptance date, a set of CoEs and a visa grant, or a completion date plus a later course start — so a provider that pays without recording which limb it relied on has no way to show the payment was permitted. This walk-through is a general reading of the instrument text rather than advice on any particular arrangement; because compiled legislation can be amended and the answer turns on documents such as the CoEs and the visa grant, the Federal Register of Legislation remains the controlling source, and anyone assessing a specific payment should confirm the current text or obtain professional advice.

Frequently Asked Questions

Did Australia ban education agent commissions for student transfers?

No. Standard 4.7 prohibits a registered provider from giving a commission in relation to the recruitment of an overseas student who has commenced studying in a course with another registered provider, but only where Standard 4.8 does not apply. Standard 4.8 sets three situations where the commission remains permitted.

Which instrument made the change, and when did it start?

The National Code of Practice for Providers of Education and Training to Overseas Students Amendment (Education Agent Commissions) Instrument 2026 (F2026L00033) was registered on 20 January 2026 and commenced on 21 January 2026. It added Standard 4.7 and Standard 4.8 and amended the definitions.

Is 31 March 2026 the date the new rule begins?

No. The commission prohibition in Standard 4.7 applied from 21 January 2026. The 31 March 2026 date appears in Standard 4.8.1 as the last day on which a student can become an accepted student of the provider under that exception.

What is a "principal course of study"?

It is the main course of study to be undertaken by an overseas student where a student visa has been issued for multiple courses of study. It would normally be the final course of study where the student arrives in Australia with a visa covering multiple courses, and it is the reference point for the Standard 4.8.3 exception.

Who has to comply — the agent or the education provider?

Standard 4.7 is written as an obligation on the registered provider, which must not give the commission. The provider also carries the related duties in Standard 4, including the written agreement and PRISMS listing under 4.1 and the requirements imposed on agents under 4.3.

Does the rule affect students recruited from overseas who have not started a course?

Standard 4.7 is triggered by a student having commenced studying in a course with another registered provider. A student who has not commenced study with another registered provider is outside that prohibition, though the rest of Standard 4 still governs the agent relationship.

What happens if an agent recruits a student dishonestly?

Where a provider becomes aware, or has reason to believe, that the agent or its employee or subcontractor is engaging in false or misleading recruitment practices, Standard 4.5 requires the provider to immediately terminate its relationship with the agent or require the agent to terminate with the individual involved. Standard 4.6 also prevents accepting students from an agent reasonably suspected of dishonest recruitment practices.