Meeting the Australian Study Requirement - Complex Scenarios
By Mark Webster
Monday, 22 August 2016 |
- Eligibility for the Graduate Temporary Subclass 485 Visa. The Graduate Temporary visa is a highly beneficial visa which allows students to stay on in Australia after completion of their studies and improve their eligibility for permanent residence.
- Points for General Skilled Migration: points are available for meeting the basic 2-year study requirement, and also for completing a qualification in a regional area taking 2 years
Registered Duration 2 Academic Years
The most critical factor is to determine how long the course is registered for on CRICOS - the Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students. To meet the requirement, the studies must be registered for 92 weeks or more. This requirement gets complicate where:- Your course registration has changed; or
- Your course is no longer listed on CRICOS
Exemptions and Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)
In the situation where a student gets exemptions from previous studies or Recognition of Prior Learning, this would previously have been a major factor in meeting the 2-year study requirement. However, after the Federal Court case of Riaz & Anor v Minister for Immigration & Anor [2013] FCCA 2244 (20 December 2013), RPL or previous studies, whether undertaken in Australia or overseas, do not affect the 2-year study requirement. Providing the course or courses completed are registered for at least 92 weeks, the student would meet the "2 Academic Years" requirement, even if they did not spend the normal duration completing the course due to exemptions or RPL. The main proviso to this is that legislation also requires the student to have taken at least 16 months between commencement and completion of the qualification(s).Eligible Qualifications
Only certain qualifications can count towards the Australian study requirement, namely:- Trade Certificates: qualifications at the Certificate III level or higher in an occupation in Major Group 3 of ANZSCO
- Diplomas or Advanced Diplomas - under Departmental Policy this now includes Associate Degrees
- Degrees - this includes Bachelor Degrees, Graduate Diplomas, Masters and PhDs
- Qualifications at the Certificate II level or lower in a Trade Occupation
- Qualifications at the Certificate IV which are not in a Trade Occupation
- Graduate Certificates