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International compliance

All international students must meet certain course requirements and visa conditions to study at Federation University in Australia.

Requirements

Your rights as an international student are protected by:

We follow the ESOS framework to make sure you get a quality education and rewarding study experience. ESOS applies to anyone with an Australian Subclass 500 Student visa. Explore the ISANA resources to see how ESOS protects you.

We also have our own policies and procedures to help you meet your course requirements. These cover things like the admissions process, credit transfer, student support and academic progression.

Getting a visa to study in Australia can be complicated. Not all visas are the same, and it's your responsibility to meet the conditions. Not sure what these are? Check with Visa Entitlement Verification Online (VEVO).

It's also important that you:

  • follow the rules about working hours 
  • keep your University contact details up to date 
  • check your student emails regularly
  • tell us if you plan to leave Australia before the end of semester.

Your enrolment must match the details in the CoE we sent you after you paid your fees, including what course you're studying and for how long.

You must tell the Department of Home Affairs if your study situation or personal details change.

Your academic progress must be deemed satisfactory in order to keep your student visa. Read your course handbook to find out what’s considered satisfactory. Some courses, like English and Academic Preparation, also have a minimum attendance requirement. You'll find more info about academic progress in our Monitoring Course / Qualification Progression Procedure.

If we think you’re not meeting these conditions, we’ll arrange a meeting to see how we can help. After that, if your progress is still inadequate, we may suspend or cancel your enrolment (which we must report to The Department of Home Affairs). If you don't think this is fair, you can lodge an appeal.

Your Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE) specifies the expected duration of your course. This is usually based on a full-time study load of 60 credit points per semester.

Your course length might change if: 

If we're not offering the pre-requisite unit you need, consider a cross-provider or cross-institutional enrolment. Cross-provider enrolment means doing one or more units at another Federation location. Cross-institutional enrolment means doing one or more units at another university in Australia.

If you'll be studying for longer than you originally planned, you must get our approval then apply for a new CoE (see below). You may also need to apply for a new student visa. If you complete your program early or receive credit exemption that reduces the duration of your studies, we must report this to Department of Home Affairs and the duration of your student visa may be reduced.

Find out more by reading our Completion Within the Expected Duration of Study Procedure.

If something out of your control prevents you from studying, you may be able to take a break or reduce your study load. If that isn’t enough, you can completely withdraw from your studies. Find information about how to take leave, reduce your study load, defer or withdraw on our administration webpage. 

Suspension or cancellation of enrolment by the University

We can suspend or cancel your enrolment due to:

  • unacceptable behaviour
  • plagiarism
  • breaches of discipline
  • unsatisfactory program progress
  • unsatisfactory attendance (if applicable).

See the Federation University Australia (Students) Regulations 2022 for more detail.

If don't agree with our decision, you have 20 working days to make an appeal.

If we suspend or cancel your enrolment, we must notify the Department of Home Affairs. This may affect your student visa.

If you want to study your course at a different Federation campus, you must follow our Transfer between Teaching Locations Procedure.

If you decide to permanently transfer to a different education provider, you can apply to withdraw from Federation. If this happens in your first six months with us, we’ll follow our Transfer Between Registered Providers procedure.

If you have any problems while you’re studying, get in touch. If you need help understanding or appealing a decision we’ve made, contact Student Advocacy. 

When you begin your course at Federation, you must complete the online International Student Essentials program. It is a visa requirement and you can find it on Moodle, our learning management system.

It brings together the information and tips you need to live and study in Australia, as an international student, including your rights and responsibilities and how to stay safe. It takes about an hour to complete, and you can refer to it at any point during your studies.