Student Default Reporting in PRISMS: Obligations Providers Must Record From 2026

A registered provider that owes a refund because an overseas student defaults must record a short, fixed set of details in PRISMS: the reason no refund was paid, or — if a refund was paid — the date it was paid, confirmation that the amount was calculated under subsection 47E(4) of the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 (the ESOS Act), and the date the student default occurred. That is the requirement in section 6 of the Education Services for Overseas Students (Notice Requirements—Student Defaults) Instrument 2026, as published on the Federal Register of Legislation as of September 2026. The same instrument repeals the 2015 notice specification in full, so the notice requirements now sit in a single place.

When does the 2026 notice instrument start, and what did it replace?

The whole of the instrument commences on the day after it is registered. The register text sets commencement by reference to registration rather than by a fixed calendar date, so the operative start date has to be read off the instrument's registration details on the Federal Register of Legislation.

Schedule 1 repeals the Education Services for Overseas Students (Student default – discharge of obligations – requirements for a notice) Specification 2015 (No. 1) — the whole of that instrument. The 2026 instrument is made under subsection 47H(5) of the ESOS Act, which is the provision dealing with notice requirements for student defaults.

Which students and which defaults trigger a PRISMS entry?

Section 6 attaches the obligation to a specific combination of facts, and all of them have to line up:

the student is an overseas student or an intending overseas student;
the student defaults in relation to a course provided by the provider at a location;
the provider is required to provide a refund under section 47E of the ESOS Act.

PRISMS is defined in the instrument as the computer system established by the Secretary under section 109 of the Act. The instrument's definitions note points back to section 5 of the Act for terms including "default" and "registered provider", so the scope of a default is not set by the 2026 instrument itself. The entry is made per student, tied to a course at a location.

What exactly has to be recorded in PRISMS?

Section 6 splits into two branches, depending on whether the refund has been paid. Only one branch applies at a time.

Item	When it applies	What the instrument requires
Reason no refund was paid	Provider has not provided a refund under section 47E	The reason why it has not done so
Date the refund was paid	Refund provided under section 47E	The date the provider paid the refund to the student
Calculation confirmation	Refund provided under section 47E	Confirmation the amount was calculated in accordance with subsection 47E(4)
Date of default	Refund provided under section 47E	The date when the student default occurred
Notice content required by the Act	Every notice	The information required by subsection 47H(3) of the ESOS Act

Assume a provider has assessed a refund but has not yet paid it: that entry sits in the first branch, and the reason for non-payment is what has to be recorded. The payment date and the subsection 47E(4) confirmation only come into play once the refund has actually been paid.

The note to section 6 is easy to miss: the notice must also include whatever subsection 47H(3) of the ESOS Act requires. The instrument adds its fields on top of the Act's own notice content.

How does the refund calculation connect to the confirmation?

The confirmation field points at subsection 47E(4) of the Act, which is one of the provisions the Education Services for Overseas Students (Calculation of Refund) Instrument 2024 is made under (the other is subsection 46D(7)). That 2024 instrument repealed the 2014 refund specification and commences the day after it was registered.

Its contents relevant to a 47E(4) confirmation include:

Weekly tuition fee — calculated under the instrument, and rounded up to the nearest whole dollar if it is not already a whole dollar amount.
Weeks in the default period — the weeks during which the provider or student defaulted and for which the provider received tuition fee payment; rounded up to the nearest whole number.
Separate methods for working out refunds in the event of provider default (subsection 46D(6)), where the provider has not entered into a student default agreement meeting the requirements of section 47B (subsection 47E(2)), and in the event of a student visa refusal.

For the visa-refusal case, subsection 10(2) applies where the refusal caused the student to fail to start the course at the location on the agreed day: the refund is the course fees minus the lesser of 5% of the course fees received before the default day, or $500. Subsection 10(3) defines course fees for that purpose as the tuition fees plus any non-tuition fees received by the provider in respect of the student. Subsection 10(4) sets out the calculation where the refusal instead caused the student to withdraw or to fail to pay an amount they were liable to pay.

What should providers watch for when recording a default?

The obligation is triggered by the section 47E refund requirement, not by payment. Waiting for the money to move does not stop the entry falling due under section 6(a).
The two date fields measure different things: the date the provider paid the refund, and the date the student default occurred.
The confirmation is about the method, not the dollar figure — the instrument asks for confirmation that the amount was calculated under subsection 47E(4).
Roundings in the 2024 instrument work upwards, which can move the amount being confirmed by a dollar or by a week.
Section 47H(3) of the Act still applies alongside the instrument's fields.

This article is general information about how the published instruments read; it is not advice on any particular provider's obligations or any student's entitlement, and outcomes turn on the Act and the individual facts. Check the current text on the Federal Register of Legislation, and where the result matters, get advice from someone qualified to advise on the specific situation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the 2026 instrument cover provider default as well?

No. Section 6 is directed at notices on student default, where the provider is required to provide a refund under section 47E. Provider default refunds are dealt with through a separate calculation method, under subsection 46D(6) of the Act, in the 2024 refund instrument.

What if the provider has not paid the refund yet?

The entry still has to be made, and the required item is the reason the refund has not been provided under section 47E. The payment date, the subsection 47E(4) confirmation and the default date are the items that apply once a refund has been paid.

Does the instrument require the refund amount in dollars?

The text of section 6(b)(ii) asks for confirmation that the amount was calculated in accordance with subsection 47E(4) of the Act, rather than for the amount itself. Providers should still work from the 2024 calculation instrument, since that is what the confirmation refers to.

When does the 2026 instrument actually take effect?

The whole instrument commences on the day after it is registered. The register text does not state a calendar date, so the start date depends on the registration date recorded for F2026L00312 on the Federal Register of Legislation.

Is the 2015 specification still usable?

No. Schedule 1 repeals the Education Services for Overseas Students (Student default – discharge of obligations – requirements for a notice) Specification 2015 (No. 1) — the whole of the instrument. The notice requirements now come from section 6 of the 2026 instrument.

Where does the definition of "student default" come from?

The instrument's definitions note refers to section 5 of the ESOS Act for expressions including "default" and "registered provider". The 2026 instrument sets out what to record; it does not itself define what counts as a default.

Are non-tuition fees counted in the visa refusal calculation?

Yes, for the purposes of subsection 10(3) of the 2024 refund instrument, course fees are the sum of the tuition fees and any non-tuition fees received by the provider in respect of the student.