Australia's visa backlog nears 50,000 as international students face delays

Australia's review tribunal is struggling with almost 50,000 student visa appeals, leaving thousands of international students, including many from India, facing long delays

Australia is facing a growing strain on its student visa appeal system, with nearly 50,000 cases now stuck in the review pipeline at the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART). Officials say the surge has pushed the body to breaking point, leaving thousands of international students, including many from India, waiting months or even years for outcomes.

 

Backlog builds as student cases pile up

 

Student visa matters now account for more than a third of the tribunal’s workload, and many cases have been sitting unresolved for up to two years. Evidence presented at a Senate estimates hearing showed that as of June 30, 2025, the tribunal was working through 46,590 student visa decisions. Student appeals now make up 38 per cent of the ART’s caseload, including more than 13,000 matters between one and two years old.

 

 

Chief executive and Principal Registrar Michael Hawkins told the hearing on October 10 that the pressure had grown sharply. “Well, there’s not a lot of triaging going on because we simply don’t have the resources to attack the study visa cohort,” said Hawkins. He added that newly recruited staff would be directed towards student and protection visa workloads.

 

Caseload surges across migration and protection matters

  The Senate hearing also pointed to broader pressures on the tribunal. Its overall caseload has risen 10 per cent in three months, now standing at 124,000 matters. Of these, 69,903 are in the migration jurisdiction, up more than 10,000 since June 30, while 40,413 relate to protection claims.

 

Between July and October 2025, the tribunal finalised 3,886 matters, and 44 per cent resulted in a changed decision. Visa applications are first handled by the Department of Home Affairs, but applicants can escalate outcomes to the ART for review.

 

The tribunal plans to complete 71,045 cases by the end of the year. 

 

Staffing falls well short of what the ART needs

  Despite recent hiring rounds, the tribunal remains far below its budgeted staffing level. Hawkins told senators the agency had 281.2 full-time equivalent roles as of October 31. Another 27 staff began work on October 27, and 37 more are scheduled to join by June 2026. Even with these additions, the ART is still 97.9 full-time equivalent roles short of its target of 430.

 

New rule reshapes student visa processing

  Alongside the backlog in the review system, Australia has rolled out a new rule for processing Subclass 500 student visa applications, a move affecting thousands of international applicants.

 

The system, known as Ministerial Direction 115 (MD 115), introduces tier-based processing speeds for education providers. It replaces the earlier MD 111 directive and links visa turnaround times to how well each institution manages its “New Overseas Student Commencements” allocation.

 

Under MD 115:

 

• Institutions using less than 80 per cent of their quota fall in Priority 1

• Those between 80 per cent and 115 per cent fall in Priority 2

• Institutions above 115 per cent fall in Priority 3, where files may move slower

 

The new rule is expected to slow down applications tied to providers that exceed their enrolment limits. This includes universities, vocational colleges and private institutes that have experienced rapid growth in recent years. Many Indian applicants are watching the shift closely, with concerns that delays could affect the upcoming academic year.

 

The government introduced MD 115 after a rise in visa applications placed pressure on universities, housing markets and local services.