Full-Time Study Rules for 18–24 Year Olds on the Subclass 101 Visa in 2026
How the full-time study rule works for 18–24 year olds on the Subclass 101 Child visa: course type, attendance, gaps, and the two assessment points.
For a child aged over 18 and under 25, the Child visa (Subclass 101) route depends on being a full-time student — not once, but twice. According to the Australian Department of Home Affairs' Child visa (Subclass 101) page, as at the August 2026 version of that page, such an applicant must be a full-time student both when they apply and when the visa application is decided, must not work full time, and must be financially dependent on their parent more than on any other person. That double test is the whole planning problem: the study arrangement has to hold from the day the paperwork is lodged through to the day a decision is made, and the Department's page does not set a shorter window.
This article is general information about how the published rules fit together, not advice on any individual case; the wording that governs an application is the current official wording, read together with the Migration Regulations 1994 and any professional advice the applicant chooses to obtain.
Does the study requirement apply at lodgement, at decision, or both?
Both. The Department's page states the requirement in a way that attaches to two points in time: the child must be a full-time student when they apply and when the application is decided. The regulations carry the same two-step structure — clause 101.213 sets the study, work and relationship conditions for applicants aged 18 or over at the time of application, and clause 101.221 requires those conditions and the dependency definition to continue to be met at the time of decision.
The practical consequence is that study is not a box ticked on the day of lodgement. A hypothetical applicant who enrols in a full-time course, lodges, and then drops to casual enrolment six months later still has to satisfy the decision-time test. Conversely, a child who is between courses at lodgement and starts a qualifying full-time course afterwards may fail the lodgement-time test even if everything later looks right.
What counts as a full-time course?
The Department defines a full-time student in two parts: the applicant is enrolled in a full-time course that leads to a professional, trade or vocational qualification, and they are attending classes. Both parts matter, and neither replaces the other.
The first part is about the destination of the course, not its prestige. A university degree qualifies, but so does a trade or vocational qualification; what the rule asks is whether the course leads to a professional, trade or vocational outcome. The second part is about participation. Enrolment documents describe intent; attendance is what the rule names. Applicants who are enrolled but not genuinely attending sit in the risk zone that Departmental policy guidance flags as "enrolled but not actually participating".
Because the rules do not define full-time by a number of contact hours on the Department's page, the safer reading is the one the page gives: a course that its provider treats as full-time, leading to a recognised professional, trade or vocational qualification, with the student actually attending.
When does study have to start after school?
The Department's page sets a timing expectation, not just a status expectation: the child should have started study since turning 18, or within 6 months (or a reasonable time) of finishing school. Any gap of more than 6 months between the final year of school and the start of further studies must be explained.
That is the clause most likely to surprise families who plan around the parent's migration timeline rather than the child's school calendar. A single gap year taken before any further study is not automatically disqualifying, but it is not neutral either — it falls inside the "more than 6 months" band and therefore carries an explanation burden.
How are gaps and interruptions treated?
Gaps are assessed on the explanation, and the 6-month figure is the trigger rather than an automatic refusal point. The Department's page requires gaps longer than 6 months between the final year of school and the start of further studies to be explained; the "reasonable time" wording shows the test is not purely arithmetic.
Departmental policy guidance treats documented reasons outside the applicant's control — medical evidence, or institutional closures, for example — as the kind of material that supports an explanation. A gap with no explanation attached is a different case from the same gap with contemporaneous records behind it. The same logic applies to interruptions after study has begun: the relevant question is whether the child was a full-time student at the two points the rule names, and whether any break in between is accounted for.
Can a full-time student work at the same time?
Not full time. The Department's page states plainly that a child in this age group cannot work full time. Part-time or incidental work is not named as a bar on that page, but it interacts with two other parts of the test: the applicant must be attending classes, and must be financially dependent on the parent more than any other person.
Policy guidance goes further on the assessment of work. It directs decision-makers to look at the nature, hours and remuneration of the activity, and notes that even unpaid or volunteer work may be assessed as work if it is an activity that would normally attract payment. So a role that is nominally voluntary can still be counted against the applicant if it functions like a job in hours and character.
What evidence shows financial dependence while studying?
The Department's page asks for evidence that an applicant over 18 is dependent on the parent for basic needs — food, shelter and clothing — and for how long that support has been provided. The examples it gives are bank statements, money transfers and rent receipts.
Policy guidance describes a wider evidence set for the same point: records of regular money transfers, proof of tuition and living-cost payments, bank statements, evidence of the sponsor's income, and a statement that the applicant has no independent source of income. The consistent thread is regularity over time rather than a single payment made shortly before lodgement.
What else has to stay true while the application is processed?
Study is the condition most easily lost through the passage of time, but it is not the only one. The applicant must not be — and must never have been — married, engaged, or in a de facto relationship. The sponsorship must be approved, and sponsorship must be refused if the sponsor or their partner has a pending registrable offence charge. Health and character requirements apply, with police certificates for applicants over 16 who have spent 12 months or more in a country over the last 10 years since turning 16. Applicants aged 18 or over must sign the Australian Values Statement.
The Department also requires changes to be reported after lodgement, including changes to marital or de facto status. Because the study test runs to the date of decision, a change in relationship status or a move into full-time work during processing is as consequential as the position at lodgement.
One mechanical point matters for timing: this visa is applied for on paper. Form 47CH and Form 40CH are lodged together by post to the Child and Other Family Processing Centre in Northbridge, or by courier to West Perth, with the application charge paid before posting; applications cannot be submitted in person. Applicants should not arrange travel to Australia until the Department has advised in writing that the visa is granted.
Are there cases where study is not required?
Yes. A child aged 18 or over with a disability follows a different branch of the age criterion: they must have totally or partially lost their bodily or mental functions, and cannot work full time. The study requirement does not attach to that pathway.
Children under 18 are also outside the study rule entirely, though they remain subject to the consent and best-interests provisions described on the Department's page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a university degree the only kind of course that qualifies?
No. The Department's page requires a full-time course leading to a professional, trade or vocational qualification, which covers trade and vocational pathways as well as university study. The test is the qualification the course leads to, not the type of institution delivering it.
Can my child apply at 24 if they are in their final year of study?
The age criterion covers children over 18 and under 25 who are studying full time, so a 24-year-old can fall within it. The binding conditions are that they are a full-time student at lodgement and at decision, and that the course leads to a professional, trade or vocational qualification.
Does a gap year between school and further study end the application?
Not automatically, but a gap of more than 6 months between the final year of school and the start of further studies must be explained under the Department's page. An explained gap supported by contemporaneous records is a different case from an undocumented one.
Can the applicant work part-time while studying?
The Department's page prohibits full-time work for this age group. Part-time activity is not separately addressed there, but it is weighed against attendance and the requirement to be financially dependent on the parent more than any other person; policy guidance also notes that unpaid activity normally attracting payment can be assessed as work.
What if the child finishes their course before the visa is decided?
The requirement is measured at decision as well as at lodgement, so an applicant who is no longer a full-time student when the decision is made risks failing the decision-time test. Planning continuous full-time study across the processing period is the cautious approach.
Does a child with a disability have to meet the study requirement?
No. For an applicant aged 18 or over with a disability, the Department's page requires total or partial loss of bodily or mental functions and an inability to work full time, rather than enrolment and attendance in a course.