Student visa dependent 500: financial and work rules

The official Home Affairs material does not publish a fixed dollar amount for the financial requirement for a Student visa (subclass 500) with dependants. What the sources do establish is that the subsequent temporary application charge (STAC) can apply to each dependant included in a Student visa application, that the charge is calculated per person based on their individual visa history, and that the charge is payable in addition to the base application charge. For the financial requirement itself, you must check the Student visa page and the Visa Pricing Table, because the amount depends on your circumstances and is not stated in the official guidance provided. The same sources confirm that dependants on a Student visa are subject to the same visa conditions as the primary applicant, and that the work rights of a dependant are set by the conditions on the visa granted, not by a separate rule.

What the sources actually cover

The official guidance for this article is limited to four official Home Affairs pages: the explanation of the subsequent temporary application charge, the Partner visa frequently asked questions, the skilled visa processing priorities, and the visa processing times overview. None of these pages states a financial requirement figure for a Student visa with dependants. That is an important point to be clear about at the outset, because it means any number you see elsewhere is not drawn from these sources and should not be treated as authoritative.

What the sources do provide is reliable information on two adjacent matters: how the subsequent temporary application charge applies to each person in a Student visa application, and how processing times and priorities work for the visa categories that the sources cover. This article sets out what the sources establish, and where they are silent, it tells you plainly what you must verify elsewhere.

The subsequent temporary application charge and dependants

The subsequent temporary application charge is a charge that applies to certain temporary visas. It is payable by each person in your application and is based on their individual visa history. The charge, if applicable, is payable in addition to any other visa charges that apply to your visa application at the time of lodgement.

This matters for a Student visa application that includes a partner or child, because the charge is calculated per applicant, not per application. A dependant who has previously held a temporary visa in Australia may attract the charge even if the primary applicant does not.

The charge is not paid for bridging, criminal justice or enforcement visas, and it is not paid for permanent visas. Student visas are temporary visas, so they are within the scope of the charge where the conditions are met.

How the charge is calculated

The Department sets out a four-step calculation for the subsequent temporary application charge. The charge is calculated for each applicant individually.

Step	Question	Outcome if yes	Outcome if no
1	Are you in Australia applying for a visa of a kind specified in Table 1?	Go to step 2	Charge is $0
2	Do you hold, or was the last substantive visa you held, a visa of a kind specified in Table 2?	Go to step 3	Charge is $0
3	Did you apply for a visa specified in Table 2 when you were in Australia?	Go to step 4	Charge is $0
4	Do any of the listed situations apply (new-born child, operation of law, ministerial intervention, no application made, or student visa due to education provider default)?	Charge is $0	Charge applies

Table 1 lists the temporary visas being applied for that are liable to the charge. It includes the Student visa (subclass 500), the Student Guardian visa (subclass 590), the Visitor visa (subclass 600), the Temporary Activity visa (subclass 408), the Training visa (subclass 407) and the Skills in Demand (SID) visa (subclass 482).

Table 2 lists the previous visas that count towards the charge if they were applied for in Australia. It includes the Student visa (subclass 500), the Student Guardian visa (subclass 590), the Visitor visa (subclass 600), the Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) visa (subclass 482), the Skills in Demand (SID) visa (subclass 482), the Working Holiday visa (subclass 417), the Work and Holiday visa (subclass 462), and several others.

The practical effect is that a dependant who has already held a Student visa or a Visitor visa in Australia, and who applied for that visa while in Australia, may attract the charge when included in a new Student visa application. The charge applies to the second and subsequent temporary visa applications made in Australia, not to the first.

Exemptions from the charge

The charge will not be applied where at least one of the following applies:

• the base application charge for your application is nil
• the visa pricing table does not show a subsequent temporary application charge
• the visa pricing table shows the subsequent temporary application charge as nil
• the visa pricing table shows the subsequent temporary application charge as N/A
• the applicant is outside Australia while making their substantive temporary visa application
• the applicant is making their first substantive temporary visa application in Australia
• the subsequent temporary application charge formula evaluates the charge to nil

For a dependant included in a Student visa application, the most common exemption is that the applicant is making their first substantive temporary visa application in Australia. A substantive visa is defined as a visa other than a bridging visa, a criminal justice visa or an enforcement visa.

An example from the official guidance

The Department gives an example of a single applicant that illustrates how the charge accumulates. Fritz applies for a Visitor visa (subclass 600) in his home country and pays the base application charge of AUD150. While in Australia, he applies for a further Visitor visa. He does not pay the subsequent temporary application charge because the visa he currently holds was applied for when he was outside Australia. He pays the base application charge of AUD380.

On his third application, made while in Australia and while holding a visa that was itself applied for in Australia, he pays the base application charge of AUD380 plus a subsequent temporary application charge of AUD700, for a total of AUD1080. The note to the example states that if Fritz had left Australia before the expiry of the first Visitor visa he applied for while in Australia, and applied for a further Visitor visa outside Australia, the subsequent temporary application charge would not have applied.

The principle extends to family applications. The charge is calculated for each applicant, so a partner or child included in a Student visa application is assessed on their own visa history.

What the sources do not say about financial requirements

The official guidance does not state a financial requirement figure for a Student visa with dependants. It does not state a savings amount, an income threshold, or a proof-of-funds formula. It does not state how much money a partner or child must have available, nor does it state how the primary applicant’s income or savings are assessed against a dependant’s needs.

You must check the Student visa (subclass 500) page on the Home Affairs website for the financial requirements. The page will set out the amount you need to demonstrate, and the Visa Pricing Table will show the current charges. The official guidance for this article does not contain those figures, and it would be incorrect to state a number here.

Processing times and priorities

The processing times overview page gives median processing times for key visa categories as at July 2026. The Student category shows a median of 21 days. The page notes that Student visa applications lodged outside Australia are processed in accordance with a Ministerial Direction, and that applications lodged before 14 November 2025 are processed according to Ministerial Direction 111, while applications lodged on or after that date are processed according to Ministerial Direction 115.

The page also lists the factors that affect processing times generally: whether all necessary supporting documents are provided, whether the application is lodged online or on paper, how quickly responses to requests for further information are provided, how long it takes to receive information from external agencies, the number of places available in the migration program for permanent visas, the complexity of the application, the volume of applications, changes to Ministerial Directions, and the time taken to decide older applications.

The skilled visa processing priorities page is not directly relevant to a Student visa, but it is included in the official guidance and it establishes that Ministerial Direction 119 came into effect on 25 July 2026 and replaced Ministerial Direction 105. It applies to certain Skilled visas, including the Skills in Demand (subclass 482) visa. It does not apply to Student visas.

The Partner visa FAQ page is also not directly relevant to a Student visa, but it establishes that Partner visa applications are processed according to Ministerial Direction 117, with highest priority given to onshore Partner visa applications for subclasses 820 and 801. It also states that two years must have passed since you applied for a temporary Partner visa before you are eligible for assessment of the permanent visa.

What to do next

Because the official guidance does not state the financial requirement for a Student visa with dependants, your next step is to verify the current figures on the official pages. Check the Student visa (subclass 500) page for the financial requirements, and check the Visa Pricing Table for the current charges, including any subsequent temporary application charge that may apply to each dependant.

When you lodge the application, include all supporting documents at the time of applying. The processing times page states that lodging a complete application helps avoid delays, and that applications are not always processed in the order they are received. For a Student visa, the page recommends lodging well in advance of course commencement.

Finally, remember that the subsequent temporary application charge is per person. If you are including a partner or child who has previously held a temporary visa in Australia, check their visa history against the four-step calculation before you assume the charge will not apply.