A reference glossary: Australian migration and legal-system terms explained in plain language. General definitions, not legal advice.
The visa category that, broadly speaking, allows a person to study a registered course in person in Australia. It covers different levels, from English through to higher education, and its purpose is study. The authoritative reference on this visa is always Australia's Department of Home Affairs.
A course listed on Australia's official register of courses and institutions authorised to take international students, known by the acronym CRICOS. A course and its institution appearing on that register is what identifies them as approved for students from other countries. It is public information that anyone can look up.
The criterion in the Australian system under which the applicant's real intention is expected to be to undertake the program. It expresses that the student visa is meant for people who genuinely want to study, not as an alternative migration route. How this is weighed is assessed case by case.
The health cover for international students that commonly appears among the documents associated with the student visa, known by the acronym OSHC. It forms part of the general picture of documentation that tends to come into play. The current detail is verified with the official source.
The document that evidences admission to a course at an Australian institution and that usually forms part of the documentation associated with the student visa. It reflects that an accepted place exists in the program that is to be studied.
The documentation that, broadly speaking, serves to reflect financial capacity within the set of documents that tend to come into play for the student visa, alongside identity, evidence of English and others. What is accepted specifically is confirmed with the official source.
The requirement to demonstrate a level of English, which appears on two planes worth not confusing: that of the visa and that of the institution. The visa may ask for a minimum level and, separately, the educational provider sets its own for admission; the two don't always match. What applies depends on the visa and the course.
The standardised English tests commonly accepted for study in Australia, such as IELTS, PTE Academic, TOEFL iBT, Cambridge Advanced and OET for health fields. Which one serves, and with what result, depends on the visa and the course; the current list is worth verifying with the official source and with the institution.
An English course taken to strengthen one's level when needed, within the general picture of options for studying in Australia. It appears as one of the paths that general information contemplates, alongside certain exceptions to the test. Whether it fits a specific situation is reviewed case by case.
The rules governing the work permission associated with the student visa, which usually comes with the visa but is subject to conditions. It is not an unlimited or automatic permission in every circumstance, and the conditions are attached to the visa. The rules are updated, so what is current is checked with the official source.
The term describing the route by which a partner joins after the student visa is already active, rather than being included from the initial application. It is one of the two general moments the Department's information describes for including a partner. Which one fits depends on each application's situation.
The document signed when enrolling to study in Australia — an offer of enrolment, a services agreement, or both. It usually includes the course details, the structure of costs and payments, the refund policy, the conditions for changing or cancelling enrolment, and the services included. Signing it is a normal step in the process.
The general concept of the routes designed for staying to work in Australia once a course is finished, drawing on having studied in the country. The one most often named is the temporary graduate visa (Temporary Graduate), seen as a continuation of the student's path. It is not automatic and tends to have different streams; what is current is checked with the official source.
The migration route designed for the partner of a person who can act as a sponsor in Australia — generally an Australian citizen, a permanent resident or, in certain cases, an eligible New Zealand citizen. Official information describes it as a path with several steps, not an automatic procedure.
The role taken on within the process by the person in Australia who supports their relative's application; in the partner visa it is usually the partner themselves, and on other routes it may be a child or a parent. It is a recognised part of the process, distinct from the application of the person who wants to migrate.
The partner visa covers both the spouse — the partner joined by marriage — and the de facto partner, who lives together without being married. Both figures fall within the scope of this route, each with its own nuances depending on the case.
The central idea of this type of application: to reflect that the relationship is real and is maintained over time. There is no single formula, but rather a whole that is built up little by little and that official information tends to group into different aspects of a shared life.
The material that helps reflect a couple's relationship, which official information groups into aspects such as living together, the financial side, social life and mutual commitment. What matters is the whole seen in its totality, built over time, not a single isolated piece.
The way the partner visa is usually described: a single application conceived in two moments, first a temporary visa and, later on, the permanent one. Permanent residence does not appear immediately, but as a second stage of the same path.
General information distinguishes the path according to where a person is at the time of applying: inside Australia or outside Australia. Each location is associated with a distinct route, and which one applies depends on each person's situation.
The category of visas provided for the parents of Australian citizens or permanent residents and, in certain cases, of eligible New Zealand citizens. Within that category there are several options, in temporary and permanent forms, rather than a single alternative.
A requirement that general information mentions for several parent visas and that, broadly, compares how many of the children live in Australia against those living in other countries. How it is calculated is exactly the kind of detail worth checking with the official source and case by case.
The route provided for the children of Australian citizens or permanent residents and, in certain cases, of eligible New Zealanders, as well as other specific situations. Within this category there is more than one option depending on the moment and the family situation.
Dependency describes the relationship by which a child depends on a parent, and it is one of the aspects usually looked at alongside the relationship and age. A child may appear included as a dependent in a parent's application — for example in a partner or work visa — or through a child visa of their own.
The area of the Australian system that brings together matters such as separation, divorce, arrangements about children and the division of property. It has its own rules, terms and institutions, which often work differently from those of other countries.
The Australian model of divorce in which the court does not examine why the relationship ended, but rather confirms that it ended for good. The procedure is carried out before the federal family court and includes separation requirements prior to the application.
In Australia the term custody is not used: instead the system relies on parenting orders — agreements or court orders about who the children live with, how they spend time with each parent, and how important decisions are made. The principle that guides everything is the best interests of the child.
The principle that guides the Australian family system's decisions when it comes to arrangements about children. It works as the central criterion around which parenting orders and other decisions affecting minors are organised.
The general name for a family of visa routes that Australia maintains for people whose occupation and experience the country is seeking. It is not a single visa but a set of paths with different logics: some depend on the person's profile, others on a state's nomination, others on an employer's sponsorship. Which route exists for which situation is defined by the Department, and the rules are updated frequently.
The Department's online system where people interested in certain skilled visas register their interest. For several routes it works as the gateway to the process: before being able to apply for the visa, a person first exists within SkillSelect. It is a registration platform, not the visa application itself.
An expression of interest lodged within SkillSelect, where a person sets out their profile—occupation, experience, English and other details. The key point is that it is not a visa application: submitting one confers no status, creates no visa in progress and does not guarantee that the process will advance. It is a declaration of interest, and what is stated there forms the basis of what is later checked.
In the routes that use SkillSelect, the step by which the system enables a visa application to be lodged, which generally can only be submitted after an invitation is received. Invitations are issued under criteria that the Department sets and updates, so another person's experience does not necessarily describe what happens today.
The mechanism that several skilled routes use to assess a profile on the basis of factors such as age, level of English, experience and qualifications. Which factors count, and how much each one contributes, is set by the Department and changes over time. A score worked out on one's own is not the same as an assessment of a case; the current table is on the official source.
An official register that links particular occupations to different skilled migration routes. The general idea is that not every occupation opens every route: which occupations are tied to which visas is defined by the registers the Australian government publishes. These lists are reviewed and change, so the only version that counts is the current one on the official source.
The body assigned to each listed occupation and responsible for assessing credentials for that particular occupation. It is not the Department: it is a separate professional or technical body that varies by field, with its own criteria, documents and process. Each occupation has its own.
A formal assessment of qualifications and experience against the Australian standards for a given occupation. It is not carried out by the Department, but by the assessing authority assigned to that occupation. For several skilled routes it tends to be an early stage, and its result forms part of what is later declared in the expression of interest.
Listed occupations carry specific descriptions and codes within the Australian system. A job title in one's own country does not always correspond to the equivalent category there, so finding an occupation in a register is a data point, not a conclusion. Reading one's own experience against those official definitions is already a matter of interpretation.
One of the general groupings within skilled migration, where a person's profile is assessed on its own, without depending on a state's nomination or an employer's sponsorship. It is one of the several ways the skilled routes are organised; the exact names and requirements of each visa are on the official source.
The arrangement in which a state, territory or region backs a skilled application according to its own priorities. It is one of the general routes within skilled migration, distinct from the independent route and from employer sponsorship. Each jurisdiction sets its own priorities, and these change over time.
The mechanism by which a registered business can nominate a worker for certain work visas. It depends on the employer, the occupation and the current rules, and it is distinct from the skilled migration that rests on a person's own profile. It is one of the general categories of pathways within the system.
Not a pathway in itself, but a mechanism: a temporary visa that, broadly speaking, can keep a person lawfully in the country while a new application—lodged before the current visa expires—is processed. The rights it grants vary from case to case. It is a bridge between one situation and another, not a destination.
The independent administrative tribunal that, in Australia, re-examines many migration decisions. It is a formal body, with its own rules and timeframes, that reviews the decision the authority made. It is the current review body: it replaced the earlier tribunal as the body responsible for this function.
The tribunal that previously reviewed migration decisions in Australia. It stopped operating and was replaced by a new body, the ART, which performs the same general function under its own rules and processes. A lot of Spanish-language information still mentions the AAT as though it were current, but that name belongs to the stage before the change.
It means that an independent administrative tribunal re-examines the migration decision the authority made. It is a formal process, with its own rules and timeframes. Not every decision carries review; where it exists, it is handled before the body that applies in each case.
The possibility that a migration decision may be re-examined before an independent body. Not all decisions carry them; where they exist, the decision letter itself usually states so expressly, along with the competent body and the timeframe to act.
The written document by which the authority communicates its decision on a visa application. It usually contains the decision itself, the reasons it rests on and—where relevant—a section on review rights: whether the decision can be reviewed, before which body and within what timeframe. When the decision was not the one hoped for, it is the most important document a person has.
The part of the decision letter that explains what the authority based its decision on. The reasons accompany the decision itself within the document. Understanding what they mean for a particular situation is a legal question, not something a general page can resolve.
The time within which a review of a decision can be requested. It is generally short and strict, and the exact period depends on the situation; it is stated in the decision letter and on the body's official page. That is why it is worth reading the letter without letting time pass.
The Australian authority that decides on visa applications and communicates its decision in writing. It also manages checks within the process, such as the character check and the collection of biometric data. Its decisions are the ones that, in certain cases, can be taken to review before an independent tribunal.
The assessment the Department makes of a person's background within the migration process. For this it usually asks for a police certificate from each country where the person has lived for an extended period within a recent span of time. It is a general concept of the process; its rules and details are on the official source.
The document that attests to a person's criminal or judicial history, issued by the police authority of the relevant country. In the Australian process it is used within the character check, and the way to obtain it varies by country and by the person's status.
A certification that validates a public document so that it has effect in another country party to the Hague Convention, issued by the competent authority of the country that issued it. An important point: an apostille is not a requirement for lodging an Australian visa application; before the Department, what is usual is a colour scan of the original document and its translation into English.
The international treaty that allows public documents to be validated among the countries that are part of it, by means of an apostille. In each contracting country there is a competent authority responsible for apostilling the documents that country issues.
The English translation the Department asks for on any document that is not in English. The rule on who may carry it out depends on where the translation is done. Online or automated translations are not accepted.
Australia's national accreditation authority for translators and interpreters. When a translation is done within Australia, it is carried out by a translator accredited by NAATI; if it is done outside Australia, the translator does not need that accreditation, but states in English their full name, address, telephone and their qualifications or experience.
The Department's official online portal through which visa applications are lodged. It is the official channel for handling the process over the internet; lodgement is done by this means and not at the embassy.
The physical information—such as fingerprints and a photograph—that the Department collects from some people within the migration process. The usual process is that a person receives a letter requesting biometrics and then books an appointment at a collection centre. Sites and hours can change; it is worth verifying them on the official source.
The legal handling of the purchase and sale of a property in Australia. The process moves in stages: review of the contract, searches and inspections, exchange of contracts and, at the end, settlement. In New South Wales, a residential property cannot go on the market without a contract of sale prepared by a lawyer or a licensed conveyancer.
The moment when a purchase and sale becomes formal: each party signs its copy of the contract and a deposit is usually handed over. Up to that point, the agreement is generally not binding and either party can change their mind. From the exchange onward, the purchase is formalised.
The final stage of the purchase and sale: the outstanding balance is paid and the buyer becomes the legal owner of the property. It closes the process that began with the review of the contract and the exchange; it is the point at which the property formally changes hands.
No matching terms.
General information · not individual legal advice.
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