The change in brief
From 12 November 2026, you must be outside Australia when you apply for a Training visa (subclass 407), and you must also be outside Australia when the visa is granted. The Department of Home Affairs says that from that date, an application made while you are in Australia will be invalid, even if ImmiAccount lets you submit it.
If you are in Australia now and want a Training visa, you will need to leave Australia before you apply.
Read the Home Affairs page on the new Training visa rules
What the law says
The change was made by the Migration Amendment (Training Visas—Application Requirements) Regulations 2026, which start on 12 November 2026. They amend the Migration Regulations 1994 so that a Training visa applicant must be outside Australia when applying and when the visa is granted.
The regulations allow the Minister to name a group of people who can still apply from inside Australia, but not while they are in immigration clearance. If you think you may be in such a group, get advice before you lodge anything.
The explanatory statement that accompanies the regulations says the change is part of a wider package aimed at stopping "visa hopping", where people move from one temporary visa to another while staying in Australia.
Read the amending regulations on the Federal Register of Legislation
Why an invalid application matters
An invalid application is not the same as a refusal, and it can leave you worse off. Home Affairs warns that lodging an invalid application may affect your visa status. If your visa has already expired, you may not be able to apply for another visa. A decision that your application is invalid cannot be reviewed by the Administrative Review Tribunal. And because the application must be made from outside Australia, you will not receive a bridging visa linked to it.
The explanatory statement notes that if a valid Training visa application is refused, merits review is still available.
Applications lodged before 12 November 2026
If you lodged a valid Training visa application before 12 November 2026, Home Affairs says the new rules do not apply to it. Your application will be assessed under the rules in place when you applied, including the changes that started on 11 March 2026.
The sponsor and nomination still come first
Since 11 March 2026, you can only apply for a Training visa once your sponsor has been approved as a temporary activities sponsor and has an approved Training visa nomination for you. The only exception is where the sponsor is a Commonwealth agency. Before that change, the sponsorship, nomination and visa applications could be lodged at the same time.
How to prepare
Home Affairs suggests that if you are in Australia, you prepare your application before you leave. Check when your current visa expires and make sure you leave before it does. Confirm that the sponsorship and your nomination have both been approved, and gather the documents you will need. Find out whether you need a health examination and whether you can complete it before you go. Plan to be outside Australia when the visa is granted.
Once you are outside Australia, you lodge the application through ImmiAccount. You may travel to Australia on another valid visa while your Training visa is being processed, but you must follow that visa's conditions, and you must be outside Australia when the Training visa is granted. Home Affairs advises against booking travel back to Australia based on an expected grant date, because processing times vary.
Read the Home Affairs Training visa (subclass 407) page
For sponsors and training organisations
Build the approval steps and the trainee's time outside Australia into your program dates. If you have trainees in Australia now, talk to them about their visa expiry dates before you set a start date.
Read our guide to work and sponsored visas
Read our guide to employer-sponsored visas 482, 186 and 494
To talk about your situation, Book a Consultation from the top of this page, or message us on WhatsApp on +61 478 278 410.
General information only, not legal advice. EMC Australia, MARN 1800335.