diff --git a/activerecord/lib/active_record/autosave_association.rb b/activerecord/lib/active_record/autosave_association.rb
index 33646ad54f..774ae49064 100644
--- a/activerecord/lib/active_record/autosave_association.rb
+++ b/activerecord/lib/active_record/autosave_association.rb
@@ -282,6 +282,11 @@ module ActiveRecord
       new_record? || has_changes_to_save? || marked_for_destruction? || nested_records_changed_for_autosave?
     end
 
+    def changes_applied # :nodoc:
+      @_already_called[:changes_applied] = true
+      super
+    end
+
     private
       # Track if this record is currently being saved.
       # Autosave can call save multiple times on the same record. Some methods
@@ -530,11 +535,6 @@ module ActiveRecord
         errors.uniq!
       end
 
-      def changes_applied
-        @_already_called[:changes_applied] = true
-        super
-      end
-
       # Call +changes_applied+ at least once or if attributes changed
       def _apply_changes?(attribute_names)
         !@_already_called[:changes_applied] || attribute_names.present?