Hey Cara,
Yes you got my attention but don't make a habit of it :-)
FJ should consider the following:
a) Partner visas lodged onshore are taking up to 18 months to process. Effectively she could just forget about her student visa now and plan to return next March and the partner application would still be processed normally. She'd need to return on a visitor visa if the student visa had been cancelled but that's perfectly normal.
b) Having returned for the final processing - they send you a preliminary email to suggest that you need to get your stuff organised so you'd have notice of the need to return for six months or so - you could then just treat that as an extended holiday and then, when the visa is granted, hopefully you'll qualify for the permanent visa and then as Cara says you've got 5 years to make up your minds, five years of Trump, Brexit fallout, global warming, etc to decide where you'd rather be. If they only grant the temporary visa then there'll be a further request for evidence of your relationship in another 12-24 months, and then the permanent visa can be granted.
c) Visa costs aren't going to get cheaper, it would be better not to have to apply for a partner visa again if you can avoid it. Assuming you ever want to come back to Australia!
Cheers,
George Lombard