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Subclass 485 visa

The Temporary Graduate (Subclass 485) visa allows holders to live and work in Australia temporarily after they have finished their studies in Australia.

To be eligible for a Subclass 485 visa, you must:

  • hold an eligible visa;
  • have held a Student (Subclass 500) visa in the last 6 months;
  • be aged 35 years or under at time of application (exceptions apply);
  • demonstrate required English;
  • meet the two year Australian Study Requirement in the last 6 months;
  • meet health and character requirements;
  • have health insurance in Australia; and
  • meet the specific requirements of the stream in which you are applying for.

You can be under 50 years of age when you apply if you:

  • are using a Masters (Research) or Doctoral Degree (PhD) to meet the Australian Study Requirement, or
  • hold a Hong Kong or British National Overseas passport.

From 1 July 2024, the Temporary Graduate (Subclass 485) visa streams were re-named:

  • Graduate Work stream re-named to Post-Vocational Education Work stream
  • Post-Study Work stream re-named to Post-Higher Education Work stream

The qualification used to meet the Australian Study Requirement will determine the stream you can apply for:

  • If you hold an associate degree, diploma or trade qualification, you should apply for the Post-Vocational Education Work stream:
    • The qualification you use must be closely related to your nominated occupation on the Medium and Long-Term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL)
    • The maximum eligible age will reduce to 35 years of age or under with the exception of Hong Kong and British National Overseas passport holders who will still be eligible if they are under 50 years of age
    • Applicants may continue to stay for up to 18 months and Hong Kong or British National Overseas passport holders for up to 5 years
    • Restrictions that were in place for applicants whose first Student visa was granted because of an application made before 5 November 2011 will no longer apply
  • If your qualification is degree level or higher, you should apply for the Post-Higher Education Work Stream (PHEWS):
    • The maximum eligible age will reduce to 35 years of age or under with the exception of Masters (research) and doctoral degree (PhD) graduates and Hong Kong and British National Overseas passport holders will still be eligible if they are under 50 years of age

    • Stay periods will change to the following:

      • Bachelor degree (including honours) – up to 2 years
      • Masters (coursework and extended) – up to 2 years
      • Masters (research) and doctoral degree (PhD) – up to 3 years.

      Hong Kong and British National Overseas passport holders may be able to stay for up to 5 years

    • Stay periods for Indian nationals, as agreed in the Australia India – Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (AI-ECTA), remain as:

      • Bachelor degree (including honours) – up to 2 years
      • Bachelor degree (with first class honours in STEM, including ICT) – up to 3 years
      • Masters (coursework, extended and research) – up to 3 years
      • Doctoral degrees (PhD) – up to 4 years

From 14 December 2024, a new definition of “degree” has been established for Temporary Graduate (Subclass 485) visa applicants.  A Graduate Certificate will no longer be accepted as a specified “degree” whereas a Graduate Diploma is acceptable only when commenced within the same, or the next, academic year following completion of a relevant Bachelor’s, Master’s, or PhD program.

This means that students intending to study the Graduate Diploma of Early Childhood Education must have completed a relevant Bachelor’s degree that they studied in Australia and does not have substantive gap in between.  Otherwise, they will need to either study while on a 485 visa or package the graduate diploma (on Early Childhood Education) with a master’s degree relevant to early childhood teaching.

 

Second Post-Higher Education Work stream (former Second Post-Study Work stream)

From 1 July 2024, the Second Post-Study Work stream was renamed the Second Post-Higher Education Work stream.  There are no other changes to this stream.

This visa is for Temporary Graduates holding a Post-Higher Education Work, Post-Study Work or Replacement visa with a degree from an Australian institution located in a regional area.

Replacement Stream

From 1 July 2024, the Replacement stream ceased.

Ending Onshore “Visa Hopping”

On 12 June 2024, the Minister for Home Affairs published a media release that announced further changes to the migration system.  These changes are to stop what is referred to in the Migration Strategy and the media release as “visa hopping” where temporary visa holders continue to apply for further temporary visas onshore to extend their stay in Australia with little prospect of becoming permanent residents.

As a measure to restrict visa hopping the media release outlines the following changes to commence from 1 July 2024:

  • Visitor visa holder will not be able to apply for a Student (Subclass 500) visa onshore
  • Temporary Graduate (Subclass 485) visa holder will not be able to apply for a Student (Subclass 500) visa onshore

The visitor to student pathway saw over 36,000 applications from 1 July 2023 to end of May 2024 is being shut down to reinforce the integrity of the student visa program.

In their recent Graduates in Limbo report, the Grattan Institute found that 32% of Temporary Graduate visa holders are returning to study when their visa expires in order to prolong their stay in Australia.

This change makes it clear that graduates should be finding skilled jobs and becoming permanent residents, or departing the country when they are more likely to become ‘permanently temporary’.

These changes support a range of other changes that are being implemented for Temporary Graduate visa holders on 1 July 2024.  These include significantly shorter post-study work rights, reduced age limits from 50 to 35 years of age, and increased English language requirements which were implemented in March 2024.

Subclass 476 visa

The temporary Skilled – Recognised Graduate (Subclass 476) visa allowed recent Engineering graduates of eligible universities to gain up to 18 months of skilled work experience in occupations.

From 22 December 2023, the temporary Skilled – Recognised Graduate (Subclass 476) visa has been capped.  ​If you have an application pending you will be able to apply for a repayment of your Visa Application Charge (VAC).

As the Department of Home Affairs work through on-hand applications you will be sent instructions on how to claim a repayment of your VAC through ImmiAccount.