Temporary Graduate Visa (Subclass 485)

What is the 485 visa?

The Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) is the bridge between finishing an Australian qualification and building the work history that makes permanent residence realistic. It gives full work rights with no employer restriction and no hour limit — which is why the 485 is usually the most consequential visa an international student ever applies for, and the one most often lost on a technicality.

Three of those technicalities catch people every year: the six-month window after your qualification is awarded, the English score (which is higher than most people think), and the age limit — 35, not 50, for most applicants.

At a glance (updated 20 August 2026)

Confirm current figures on the Department of Home Affairs website before lodging.

The current streams

The stream names changed on 1 July 2024, and a lot of published advice still uses the old ones:

• Post-Higher Education Work (formerly Post-Study Work) — bachelor including honours, masters by coursework, extended masters, masters by research, doctoral, and qualifying graduate diplomas
• Post-Vocational Education Work (formerly Graduate Work) — associate degree, diploma or trade qualification, which must be closely related to a nominated occupation on the MLTSSL
• Second Post-Higher Education Work — a further 485 for graduates who studied and lived in a designated regional area

The Replacement stream is closed — applications had to be made before 1 July 2024. If a page still lists it as an option, that page is more than two years stale.

A 485 is generally once only. The Department's wording is direct: if you previously held a subclass 485 or 476 as a primary applicant, you cannot be granted this visa as a primary applicant again. If you held one as a secondary applicant — as a partner or child on someone else's visa — you may still be eligible to apply as a primary applicant.

The single exception is the second regional 485, and the Migration Regulations cap it: clause 485.211 bars a further grant to anyone who has already held 2 Post-Higher Education Work visas (or 3 in the older Post-Study Work stream). One first 485 plus one second regional 485 exhausts the stream.

How long the visa runs

Indian nationals get longer, under AI-ECTA — the Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement: bachelor 2 years; bachelor with first-class honours in STEM including ICT, 3 years; masters of any kind 3 years; doctorate 4 years.

One correction worth making loudly, because it is widely muddled: MATES is not a 485 extension. The Mobility Arrangement for Talented Early-professionals Scheme is a separate subclass 403 stream for Indian graduates — two years, 3,000 places a year, allocated by ballot. Different visa, different application, different rules.

The second regional 485 adds one or two years depending on where you studied and where you then live: Category 3 study and Category 3 residence gives two years; Category 2 combinations give one; Tasmanian combinations give two. Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane are Category 1 — they do not qualify at all.

The study requirement — where applications die

The 485 has its own study requirement, and every element is a hurdle:

• courses must be CRICOS-registered
• completed in a total of at least 16 calendar months
• representing at least 2 academic years of study — the Department reads this as 92 weeks of registered course duration
• all instruction in English
• undertaken in Australia, on a visa authorising study
• the qualification must have been awarded in the 6 months immediately before the day you apply

Two traps inside that list. Credit transfer only counts if the credit came from CRICOS-registered study — overseas credit does not build your 92 weeks. And ELICOS and enabling programs cannot be counted at all.

The six-month award window is the one that ends applications outright. It runs from when the qualification is awarded — not when you sat your last exam, and not when you attend the ceremony. Get the completion letter date in writing early.

You must also hold, or have recently held, a student visa

Either you hold an eligible student visa when you apply, or you hold a bridging visa A or B (or another substantive visa) having held an eligible student visa at some point in the six months ending immediately before you apply. Foreign Affairs and Defence student visas do not count, and neither does a student visa held as a family member.

You must be in Australia, and not in immigration clearance, when you lodge.

Conditions on the visa

• 8501 is mandatory — maintain adequate health insurance for your whole stay
• 8610 is mandatory on a second regional 485 — live, and if working or studying do so, only in the relevant regional area
• 8515 may be imposed if the visa is granted while you are offshore

There is no work-hour limit and no employer restriction. Full work rights, multiple entry — but no one hands you a job; the 485 is time to build the work history, not a placement.

Where 485 applications go wrong

1. Missing the six-month award window — the single most common fatal error, and unfixable once passed

2. English scores taken from an old page. The requirement is 6.5 overall with 5.5 in each band, not 6.0/5.0. The 6.0/5.0 table applies only to Hong Kong and BNO passport holders

3. Letting the English test go stale — it must be taken in the 12 months before you apply, a much tighter window than the three years most visas allow

4. Turning 36 mid-plan. The age limit is assessed at application. Unless you finished a masters by research or a doctorate, or hold an HK/BNO passport, 35 is the wall

5. Counting ELICOS or overseas credit toward the 92 weeks

6. Choosing a PVEW course unrelated to an MLTSSL occupation — the vocational stream requires a close relationship, assessed on the course content

7. Assuming MATES extends the 485 — it is a different visa entirely

485 advice — Australia-wide

Migration Vision advises graduates across Australia and applicants planning their study from overseas — the award-date timing, the English strategy, whether a regional second 485 is realistically available, and how the 485 feeds a skilled or employer-sponsored pathway rather than just delaying the decision. Online consultations in English, Hindi, Urdu and Punjabi. Related reading: the points test explained · English language requirements · skilled independent 189.

Frequently asked questions

How much does the 485 visa cost in 2026?

$5,750 for the main applicant on a first 485, plus $2,875 per additional applicant aged 18 or over and $1,450 per child. A second regional 485 costs $2,265. There is no second instalment, and the 485 is exempt from the subsequent temporary application charge.

What English score do I need for the 485?

IELTS Academic or General Training 6.5 overall with at least 5.5 in each component, or the equivalent in PTE Academic (55 overall), TOEFL iBT (81), OET (1310), CELPIP General (8), LANGUAGECERT Academic (67) or MET (58). The test must be taken in the 12 months immediately before you apply. Holders of Hong Kong or British National (Overseas) passports have a lower table (IELTS 6.0 with 5.0 in each). Citizens and passport holders of the UK, USA, Canada, New Zealand or Ireland are exempt.

What is the age limit for the 485?

35 or younger at the time of application for most applicants. The limit is under 50 if you hold a Hong Kong or British National (Overseas) passport, which applies to every stream. It is also under 50 if you met the study requirement with a masters by research or a doctoral degree — but that exemption belongs to the Post-Higher Education Work and Second Post-Higher Education Work streams. The Post-Vocational Education Work stream is built on a diploma, associate degree or trade qualification, so the passport exemption is the only one available there.

How long do I have to apply after finishing my course?

Your qualification must have been awarded in the six months immediately before the day you apply. That window runs from the award date, not from your final exam or your graduation ceremony.

How long does the 485 take to process?

On Home Affairs figures updated 4 August 2026, the Post-Higher Education Work stream is running at 75% in 3 months and 90% in 4 months; the Post-Vocational Education Work stream at 75% in 89 days and 90% in 3 months.

Can I work full time on a 485?

Yes. The 485 carries no work-hour limit and no employer restriction. You must hold adequate health insurance for the whole stay (condition 8501), and a second regional 485 requires you to live and work in the relevant regional area (condition 8610).

Reviewed by Dr Asad Muhammad Khan, Registered Migration Agent, MARN 2619525. Updated 22 August 2026 — charges, age limits, stream structure, study requirement and visa conditions verified against the Migration Regulations 1994 (compilation No. 288, in force 1 July 2026, Schedule 1 item 1229 and Schedule 2 clauses 485.211 and 485.232) on legislation.gov.au; English scores, stay periods, AI-ECTA arrangements and processing times verified against the Department of Home Affairs on that date. This page is general information, not migration advice for your circumstances.