Assessment level 3 and 4 students in Australia who require a further student visa to complete their Year 12 studies will be exempt from the requirements that they be under 18 years of age and that their course be more than 16 months in duration.

Students may not be able to complete their studies before their student visa expires because they have to repeat Year 12 or require a longer period of English language tuition than originally expected.

To be eligible for the exemption, these students must have successfully completed Year 11 in Australia and provide evidence of enrolment in Year 12.

Australian curriculum secondary school courses undertaken outside Australia (subclass 571)

Assessment level 3 and 4 student visa applicants applying outside Australia were, prior to 1 July 2002, exempted from undertaking a principal course of at least 16 months if they had undertaken outside Australia a secondary school course of at least two years duration with an Australian curriculum and conducted in English by an Australian provider with Australian teaching staff.

From 1 July 2002, the requirement for teaching staff to be Australians has been replaced by a requirement that the applicant is recognised by the relevant State or Territory education authority as meeting the requirements for successful completion of the relevant years of their overseas secondary course.

Changes to care arrangements for student visa applicants under 18 years of age

Public Interest Criterion 4012A and visa condition 8532 apply to student visa applicants who have not turned 18 years of age and are not AusAID or Defence students (subclass 576).

Such applicants must either (a) reside in Australia with a parent, or a person who has custody of them, or a person nominated by either the parent or the person having custody of them, or (b) provide evidence that they will be going into care arrangements - for their accommodation, support and general welfare - approved by the education provider for the course in which they are enrolled.

The changes, which are detailed below, apply to applicants who will not be going into care arrangements approved by their education provider.

Only a parent of the applicant or a person who has custody of the applicant will be allowed to nominate a carer for the applicant.

A person who has custody of the applicant is a person who has the right to have the daily care and control of the applicant and the right and responsibility to make decisions concerning their daily care and control.

The only persons who may be nominated as a carer by a parent or by a person who has custody of the applicant are a relative of the applicant who is at least 21 years old and who is of good character.

Previously, any person aged at least 18 years, including a non-relative, could be nominated as a carer. The carer must also have the right to remain in Australia for the period that the student is under 18 years of age.

A relative eligible to be nominated as a carer includes a brother, sister, step-parent, step-brother, step-sister, grandparent, aunt, uncle, niece or nephew, step-grandparent,

step-aunt, step-uncle, step-niece or step-nephew.

To establish that a nominated carer is of good character, the applicant will be required to provide evidence of police clearance of the carer in the country or countries in which they have resided for more than 12 months in the past 10 years after the age of 16.

Details on how to obtain a police clearance are contained in form 47P Character Requirement: Police Certificates.