What Is a CoE for Australia? Confirmation of Enrolment Explained

A CoE for Australia (Confirmation of Enrolment) is the official electronic record your Australian university or college issues, through the government’s PRISMS system, once you have accepted your offer and paid what it asks. You generally need a CoE for every course before you apply for a Student visa (subclass 500), and it must still be valid when Home Affairs decides your application. Your offer letter alone is not enough.

Last checked: 17 October 2026.

CoE for Australia: key facts

What is a CoE, and what is PRISMS?

The Department of Education’s ESOS and PRISMS FAQs describe a CoE as an official document issued by a CRICOS-registered provider. It confirms you are eligible to enrol and shows the provider, the course and the study dates. Home Affairs needs this evidence before it issues a Student visa.

PRISMS (Provider Registration and International Students Management System) is the government system providers use to create, approve, change and cancel CoEs. Home Affairs sees the same record. That is why a real CoE has a code you can quote in your visa application, and why a printed “CoE” from anyone other than your provider means nothing.

Under the ESOS Act and the National Code, providers must report changes to your enrolment to Home Affairs through PRISMS. Any change to an approved CoE (new dates, new course) is made through a “student course variation”, which cancels the old CoE and creates a replacement.

How to get your CoE, step by step

1. Get an offer from a CRICOS-registered provider and check it carefully (course name, CRICOS code, start date, fees).
2. Accept the offer and sign the written agreement. Read the refund policy before you pay.
3. Pay what the provider asks, such as a tuition deposit, and OSHC if you buy it through the provider. Keep every bank receipt.
4. Send any extra documents the provider asks for (for example, financial or Genuine Student evidence) before it releases the CoE.
5. Receive the CoE by email from the provider. Check your name matches your passport, and check the course dates.
6. Lodge your Student visa in ImmiAccount using the CoE code(s), with OSHC already arranged.

Before paying anything, check the provider and course on the CRICOS register, and if an agent is involved, run our consultancy red flag test so you do not pay the wrong person.

Packaged courses: one CoE for each course

Many Nepali students start with English (ELICOS) or a foundation course, then move into a diploma or degree. If you put two or more courses under one visa, Study Australia says you need a CoE for each course. Other rules:

• The final course is your main (principal) course. Home Affairs uses it to decide what financial and English evidence you must give.
• Gaps between courses should generally be under two calendar months. A gap of up to four months is acceptable if the first course ends in November and the next starts in February.
• Different providers can be packaged. For offshore applications, processing priority follows the main CoE, usually the final course in the package.
• Your OSHC must cover the whole package. See our guide to health insurance for international students.

Timing: CoE, visa lodgement and processing priority

Your CoE start date drives everything else. Study Australia does not give a fixed “apply X weeks before” rule; it says to allow enough processing time before you travel. In practice, the sooner you have a CoE, the sooner you can lodge.

Processing order for applications lodged outside Australia is set by a Ministerial Direction. Home Affairs’ student visa processing priorities page says:

• Ministerial Direction 115 applies to offshore Student visa applications lodged on or after 14 November 2025.
• Priority 1 applies while your main provider is below 80% of its new overseas student allocation. Priority 2 applies once it reaches 80%. Priority 3 applies once it has gone 15% over its allocation.
• Priority is fixed at the date you lodge. It changes speed, not whether you are granted or refused. A Direction “is not a visa cap”.
• Applications lodged between 15 November and 31 December are measured against the following year’s allocation. So an offshore application lodged on, say, 18 November 2026 uses the provider’s 2027 position.

The 2027 national planning level (295,000)

On 15 July 2026, Study Australia announced the 2027 National Planning Level: 295,000 new overseas student commencements, the same as 2026. Key points from that announcement and the agent update published the same day:

• The planning level is “not a cap or a limit on student numbers”. Genuine students who meet the visa requirements can still be granted a visa.
• Each provider has an allocation. Applications are processed as Priority 1 until the provider reaches 80% of it; after that they are still accepted but processed more slowly.
• No active provider will get a lower 2027 allocation than it had in 2026.
• Some students do not count towards a provider’s allocation, including standalone ELICOS, higher degree by research, TAFE, school students and certain government-scholarship holders.
• Providers must record scholarship and transnational education arrangements on the student’s CoE in PRISMS.

For you, this means one practical question: before you accept, ask your provider in writing whether it has reached its prioritisation threshold for the year your application will be counted in.

What happens when a CoE is cancelled

Before your visa is decided: a cancelled CoE is not valid. If your provider issues a new CoE while your application is still being assessed, attach it in ImmiAccount as soon as possible. If there is no valid CoE when Home Affairs decides, the application cannot meet the requirement.

After you hold the visa: your provider reports changes to Home Affairs through PRISMS. The Department of Education’s National Code Standard 9 guidance says:

• A provider can cancel for misbehaviour, unpaid fees, or breaches of course progress or attendance rules. You can also ask for cancellation yourself.
• The provider must give written notice first. You then have 20 working days to use its internal complaints and appeals process, and the cancellation generally cannot take effect until that process ends (except where health or safety is at serious risk).
• The provider must tell you that cancellation may affect your visa and direct you to Home Affairs for advice.
• Once recorded, the CoE shows as “cancelled” in PRISMS and Home Affairs is notified.

Study Australia says students must remain enrolled and meet course requirements, and that changing providers can require a new visa, depending on your course level and how long you have held your visa. If your provider itself defaults, you can work unlimited hours until you enrol in and start a new course. If your visa expires without another visa in place, you can become an unlawful non-citizen. Act early and speak to Home Affairs or a registered migration agent.

For Nepali students: practical points

• Name and date of birth on the CoE must match your passport exactly. Ask for a correction before you lodge.
• Keep the payment trail. Remittance receipts for your deposit belong with your financial documents.
• NOC. Sending tuition from Nepal involves the Ministry of Education’s No Objection Certificate. See our NOC guide.
• Onshore changes from 2 October 2026. Home Affairs has restricted most onshore Student visa lodgements from 2 October 2026, so plan to lodge from Nepal unless an exemption clearly applies to you.
• Total cost. Plan the full amount with our Australia student visa cost guide.

Common CoE mistakes

• Lodging a visa with only an offer letter.
• Forgetting the CoE for the second course in a package.
• Leaving a gap of more than two months between packaged courses without checking.
• Deferring your start date and not uploading the new CoE to ImmiAccount.
• Paying a deposit to a provider that has already passed its prioritisation threshold without knowing it.
• Changing provider after arrival without checking whether you need a new visa.

What to do next

1. Confirm your provider and course are CRICOS-registered.
2. Ask the provider about its 2026 or 2027 prioritisation status, in writing.
3. Accept, pay, and get one CoE per course.
4. Buy OSHC for the full visa period.
5. Prepare your Genuine Student answers with our GS answers guide, then lodge.

Frequently asked questions

What is a CoE for an Australian student visa?
It is a Confirmation of Enrolment, an official record issued by your CRICOS-registered provider through PRISMS. Home Affairs needs it before it grants a Student visa.

Can I apply for an Australian student visa without a CoE?
Generally no. Study Australia says you generally need a CoE before applying, and it must be valid when Home Affairs makes its decision.

Do I need two CoEs for ELICOS and a bachelor’s degree?
Yes. A package of courses needs a CoE for each course. The final course is treated as your main course.

What happens to my visa if my CoE is cancelled?
Your provider reports it to Home Affairs through PRISMS. Cancellation may affect your visa, so get advice from Home Affairs quickly. Before cancelling, the provider must normally give notice and 20 working days to appeal.

Is the 295,000 limit a cap on Australian student visas?
No. The 2027 National Planning Level of 295,000 is a planning level for processing priority, not a cap. Applications are still accepted after a provider reaches 80% but are processed more slowly.

Related guides

• OSHC for Australia: Cost and Rules for Nepali Students
• How to Explain a Study Gap for a Student Visa (Nepal Guide)
• IELTS vs PTE for Nepali Students in 2026: Which to Take

Sources

• ESOS framework and PRISMS FAQs – Department of Education
• National Code Standard 9: deferring, suspending or cancelling enrolment – Department of Education
• Student visa (subclass 500) – Study Australia
• Frequently asked visa questions – Study Australia
• Australia confirms international education settings for 2027 – Study Australia, 15 July 2026
• Australian Government confirms 2027 National Planning Level – Study Australia
• Student visa processing priorities – Department of Home Affairs
• Changes to Student visa application rules factsheet – Department of Home Affairs

Last checked: 17 October 2026. This is general information, not legal or migration advice.