The Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Mr Chris Bowen, has announced that from 24 March 2012 the Assessment Levels (ALs) for certain Student Visa subclasses will be reduced.
This reduction in Assessment Levels will affect the issuing of Australian Student Visas to 29 countries, across a range of education sectors.
Assessment Levels are applied to each individual Student Visa application, and are used to determine the amount of evidence student visa applicants need to provide to demonstrate that they are a genuine student visa applicant. They are also indicative of the level of scrutiny with which a claim is assessed by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship. ALs reflect the Department's perceived risk of visa non-compliance.
The proposed reduction in ALs is to be implemented as a result of an Independent review of Australia’s Student Visa Program undertaken in 2011.
The reduction in Assessment Levels means that the level of evidence required by student visa applicant's to prove that they are genuine applicant's will be reduced under the revised AL regime.
What Are Assessment Levels (ALs) for Student Visas?
The Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) ascribe an ‘Assessment Level’ to all Student Visa applications as a means of risk management. Assessment Levels are assigned to each country of citizenship, across each education sector, based on a calculated and projected ‘immigration risk’ posed by students from that country studying in that education sector.
DIAC regularly reviews the risk assessments of all Student Visa subclasses and categories, and have the power to alter the Assessment Levels of Student Visas to ensure they continue to match the projected immigration risk for each group. For example, when the indicators of a particular group illustrate that they are inclined to abide by their visa conditions, DIAC may lower the Assessment Level assigned to that group to reflect this lower immigration risk.
There are five separate Assessment Levels used by Australia’s Student Visa Program, with Assessment Level 1 denoting the lowest immigration risk, and Assessment Level 5 denoting the highest risk. The level of evidence an applicant is required to provide to support their claim for the issuing of an Australian Student Visa increases with each Assessment Level.
Updated Assessment Levels (Effective 24 March 2012)
Below is a list of each Australian Student Visa subclass which will be affected by the updated Assessment Levels when they are implemented on 24 March 2012. The list also indicates the new Assessment Level each subclass will be subject to after that date:
| Citizenship Country | Education Sector |
Updated Assessment Level |
| Belize | Subclass 572 – VET | AL 2 |
| Bhutan | Subclass 574 – Post Grad Research | AL 1 |
| Botswana | Subclass 571 – Schools | AL 1 |
| Subclass 575 – Non–Award | AL 1 | |
| Bulgaria | Subclass 570 – ELICOS | AL 1 |
| Subclass 572 – VET | AL 1 | |
| Subclass 573 – Higher Ed | AL 1 | |
| Subclass 575 – Non–Award | AL 1 | |
| Peoples Republic of China | Subclass 574 – Post Grad Research | AL 1 |
| Ecuador | Subclass 574 – Post Grad Research | AL 1 |
| Egypt | Subclass 574 – Post Grad Research | AL 1 |
| India | Subclass 574 – Post Grad Research | AL 1 |
| Indonesia | Subclass 571 – Schools | AL 1 |
| Subclass 574 – Post Grad Research | AL 1 | |
| Jordan | Subclass 571 – Schools | AL 2 |
| Kazakhstan | Subclass 574 – Post Grad Research | AL 1 |
| Subclass 575 – Non–Award | AL 2 | |
| South Korea | Subclass 570 – ELICOS | AL 1 |
| Subclass 572 – VET | AL 1 | |
| Latvia | Subclass 572 – VET | AL 1 |
| Lebanon | Subclass 571 – Schools | AL 2 |
| Subclass 574 – Post Grad Research | AL 1 | |
| Subclass 575 – Non–Award | AL 3 | |
| Maldives | Subclass 570 – ELICOS | AL 2 |
| Subclass 571 – Schools | AL 1 | |
| Subclass 573 – Higher Ed | AL 1 | |
| Mauritius | Subclass 571 – Schools | AL 1 |
| Mexico | Subclass 572 – VET | AL 1 |
| Republic of Montenegro | Subclass 570 – ELICOS | AL 2 |
| Subclass 572 – VET | AL 2 | |
| Subclass 573 – Higher Ed | AL 2 | |
| Subclass 575 – Non–Award | AL 2 | |
| Namibia | Subclass 573 – Higher Ed | AL 2 |
| Nepal | Subclass 574 – Post Grad Research | AL 1 |
| Nicaragua | Subclass 570 – ELICOS | AL 2 |
| Subclass 571 – Schools | AL 2 | |
| Subclass 572 – VET | AL 2 | |
| Subclass 575 – Non–Award | AL 2 | |
| Philippines | Subclass 571 – Schools | AL 1 |
| Reunion | Subclass 572 – VET | AL 1 |
| Subclass 573 – Higher Ed | AL 1 | |
| Seychelles | Subclass 571 – Schools | AL 1 |
| Subclass 572 – VET | AL 1 | |
| Subclass 575 – Non–Award | AL 1 | |
| Suriname | Subclass 573 – Higher Ed | AL 2 |
| Subclass 575 – Non - Award | AL 2 | |
| Tanzania | Subclass 571 – Schools | AL 2 |
| Subclass 574 – Post Grad Research | AL 1 | |
| Turkey | Subclass 571 – Schools | AL 2 |
| Subclass 572 – VET | AL 2 | |
| Ukraine | Subclass 570 – ELICOS | AL 2 |
| Subclass 571 – Schools | AL 2 | |
| Subclass 573 – Higher Ed | AL 2 | |
| Subclass 574 – Post Grad Research | AL 1 | |
| Subclass 575 – Non–Award | AL 2 | |
| Venezuela | Subclass 572 – VET | AL 1 |
All visa applications for any of the above Student Visas subclasses which are lodged on or after the 24 March 2012 will be assessed under the new updated reduced Assessment Level.
Please note that any applications lodged before 24 March 2012 will be assessed under the current existing Assessment Level for that Student Visa subclass.
To view a list of Australia’s Student Visa subclasses and their relevant Assessment Levels according to each country of citizenship and education sector, please see the following Department of Immigration and Citizenship PDF file:
Student Visa Program – Assessment Levels (also known as Form 1219i); http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/pdf/assessment-levels.pdf
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