Australia Temporary Graduate Visa (Subclass 485) Guide 2026: Streams and Eligibility

For most international students, the Australian degree is only the first half of the investment. The second half is the Temporary Graduate visa — subclass 485 — the post-study work visa that lets you stay in Australia after your course to work full time, gain local experience and, for many graduates, build the record that later supports a skilled migration application. The 485 is not tied to an employer and, in the higher education stream, your job does not need to match your degree. But the rules tightened substantially in July 2024 and the visa application charge rose sharply in 2026, so older guides are now unreliable on age limits, durations, English scores and cost.

This guide sets out the subclass 485 as it stands in October 2026: the three streams, who is eligible, the age-35 rule and its exceptions, the Australian study requirement, the English standard, health insurance and police checks, the current charges, a step-by-step application process, and the mistakes that most often end applications. If you are still at the student visa stage, read our Australia student visa (subclass 500) guide first — several 485 requirements, including the six-month application window, are set in motion by choices and dates from your student visa period.

Subclass 485 at a Glance

The Three Streams Explained

Post-Higher Education Work Stream

This is the stream most university graduates use. It is for applicants who have completed a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree or a doctoral degree at an Australian institution, in a CRICOS-registered course that meets the Australian study requirement. There is no skills assessment, no occupation list and no requirement that your job relate to your qualification. Since 1 July 2024 the stays are: two years for a bachelor’s degree, two years for a master’s by coursework, three years for a master’s by research and three years for a PhD. Note for Hong Kong and British National (Overseas) passport holders: longer stays (up to five years) apply under specific arrangements — check the Home Affairs page for your passport if this is you. Graduates comparing Australian institutions can browse the university directory, including profiles such as UNSW Sydney, before choosing where to study.

Post-Vocational Education Work Stream

This stream is for graduates of diploma and trade-level qualifications. It is more demanding: your qualification must be closely related to an occupation on the skilled occupation list used for this stream (the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List), and you must obtain a suitable skills assessment from the assessing authority for your occupation — for example Trades Recognition Australia for many trades — as part of the application. The stay is up to 18 months. Because the skills assessment can take time and must fit inside the six-month lodgement window, vocational graduates should start the assessment process before their course even ends.

Second Post-Higher Education Work Stream

Graduates who studied at a regional campus and lived in a designated regional area may qualify for a second 485 in the Post-Higher Education Work stream, adding one or two further years depending on the regional category of the location. The visa application charge for this stream is lower (AUD 2,265 for the primary applicant under the current schedule). Regional study is a deliberate strategy for some students — it can also matter for later skilled migration points — so weigh it at course-choice stage, not after graduation.

Eligibility: The Requirements Every Applicant Must Meet

• Age. You must be 35 years old or under when you apply. The exceptions are graduates with a master’s by research or a PhD, and Hong Kong/BNO passport holders, who can apply up to age 50. There is no discretion if you are 36 and outside an exception category — the date that matters is your application date, not your graduation date.
• Recent study in Australia. You must have completed your qualification in the six months before you apply, and you must have held a student visa in the six months before applying.
• The Australian study requirement. Your course (or courses) must be CRICOS-registered, taught in English, add up to at least two academic years (92 weeks) of registered study, and have taken at least 16 calendar months to complete while you were physically in Australia on a visa permitting study. Credit for prior learning can shorten a course below the requirement — a recognised trap for students who received advanced standing.
• English. You must show a test taken within the 12 months before you apply meeting the 485 standard: IELTS 6.5 overall with no component below 5.5, or the equivalent score in another test Home Affairs accepts (such as PTE Academic, TOEFL iBT, Cambridge C1 Advanced or OET). Note this is higher than the student visa English floor (IELTS 6.0 overall for direct Subclass 500 entry since August 2025), and note that Duolingo is not accepted by the Department of Home Affairs for visa purposes. The 485 test window is also short — a result older than 12 months cannot be used, however strong it is. Plan your test date with the application deadline finder alongside your course completion date.
• Health insurance. You must hold adequate health insurance for your stay in Australia. For a 485 this means an appropriate Overseas Visitor Health Cover (OVHC) policy from the time you are on the graduate visa; check exactly when your student OSHC ends and bridge any gap — a single uninsured day can be a refusal ground.
• Character. You must have applied for an Australian Federal Police (AFP) check when you lodge (the certificate itself may follow), and provide police certificates from other countries where you have lived for 12 months or more in the last 10 years, if requested.
• Health and debts. You must meet Australia’s health requirement and must not have outstanding debts to the Australian Government (or have an arrangement to repay them).
• Location and previous visas. You must be in Australia when you apply for the main streams, and you can generally only hold a subclass 485 once — the second regional stream is the main exception.

Costs and Charges

The 485 charge has risen steeply — it stood at AUD 4,600 as recently as early 2026 before the 1 July 2026 schedule set it at AUD 5,750 — so treat any lower figure in older content as out of date and confirm the live amount in the Home Affairs visa pricing estimator on the day you lodge. The charge is payable at lodgement and is generally not refunded if the application is refused, which is why the eligibility checks in this guide matter financially as well as legally. Add in the surrounding costs — a fresh English test if yours is over 12 months old, police checks, possible health examinations and OVHC premiums — using our cost of studying in Australia guide to model the full budget. While you are still a student, remember the work limit is 48 hours per fortnight during term — plan savings within that rule. And a reform note that affects family planning: under changes in force from 2 October 2026, similar dependant restrictions are coming for subclass 485 visas, with secondary applicants restricted under the ministerial release; separately, most students can no longer include a partner or children on a Subclass 500 (with exemptions including PhD students, Pacific and ASEAN nationals and government-sponsored students). Read the current Home Affairs rules for your family situation before assuming a partner can be added to either visa.

Step by Step: How to Apply for a Subclass 485

1. Work out your completion date. Your six-month window runs from your course completion date — the date you are notified that you have met all course requirements (for example, the date results are released or your completion letter is issued), not your graduation ceremony, which can be months later. Put that date in your calendar the moment you receive it.
2. Book and sit your English test early. The result must be from a test taken within 12 months before you apply and must meet IELTS 6.5 overall with 5.5 minimum in each component, or the accepted equivalent. If you need a retest, you need time for it inside the six-month window.
3. Apply for your AFP check. Lodge the Australian Federal Police National Police Check application before or as you lodge the visa — evidence that you have applied is part of a complete application.
4. Arrange OVHC. Buy an Overseas Visitor Health Cover policy that will be in force for your 485 period, and make sure there is no gap between it and the end of your student OSHC.
5. Collect your study documents. Completion letter, academic transcript, and evidence that your course meets the Australian study requirement. Post-Vocational applicants also need their skills assessment underway or completed, and evidence their occupation is on the relevant list.
6. Create or open your ImmiAccount and start the application. Select the correct stream — you cannot simply swap streams after lodging if you chose wrongly, so confirm your stream against the Home Affairs stream pages first. Use our visa requirement checker as a planning aid, then verify on the official site.
7. Pay the charge and lodge while in Australia. Pay AUD 5,750 (plus charges for any additional applicants) and submit before the six-month deadline and before your current visa expires. On lodgement you will normally be granted a Bridging Visa A that lets you stay lawfully while the 485 is decided; it activates when your student visa ends.
8. Complete health examinations and respond to requests. If Home Affairs asks for health checks or further documents, complete them promptly through the nominated providers and upload everything through ImmiAccount. Check your grant notice in VEVO when the decision arrives, and note your visa expiry date — your next steps (skilled migration, employer sponsorship, or further study) all run backwards from it.

What You Can Do on a 485 — and What Comes Next

On a subclass 485 you can live anywhere in Australia, work full time for any employer in any job, run a business, study further, and travel in and out of Australia while the visa is valid. There are no study or work-hour restrictions like those on a student visa. What the 485 does not do is lead anywhere by itself: it is a temporary visa with a fixed end date and no extension in the main streams. Graduates use the time to accumulate skilled work experience, improve English scores, complete a professional year program where relevant, seek state or territory nomination, or find an employer sponsor — the routes mapped in our guide to PR pathways after studying abroad and compared head-to-head in Australia vs Canada for international students. Permanent residence is a separate, competitive process; the 485 buys you time and Australian experience, nothing more — anyone who promises you a PR outcome in exchange for a fee is selling something they cannot deliver. If further study is part of your plan instead, research funding in our scholarships directory — and note the October 2026 reforms also removed the ability of most temporary visa holders to apply for a student visa onshore, which makes sequencing advice more important than ever.

Common Mistakes and Refusal Reasons

• Missing the six-month window. The deadline runs from course completion, not graduation. It cannot be extended, and a late application normally means the 485 is gone for good.
• An English test that is too old — or the wrong test. Results must be under 12 months old at application. Duolingo results are not accepted by Home Affairs at all, and a score of 6.5 overall with one component at 5.0 fails the component minimum.
• Falling short of the Australian study requirement. Advanced standing and course credit can quietly pull a program below 92 weeks of registered study or below 16 months of physical study in Australia.
• Applying after turning 36. Outside the research-degree and Hong Kong/BNO exceptions, age is assessed at application. A graduate who turns 36 while “getting documents together” loses eligibility entirely.
• No AFP check applied for. Lodging without evidence of having applied for the AFP National Police Check is a classic avoidable defect.
• A health insurance gap. Letting OSHC lapse before OVHC begins leaves you without adequate cover and can be a refusal ground.
• Choosing the wrong stream. Vocational graduates lodging in the higher education stream (or without a skills assessment and listed occupation) face refusal; degree graduates do not need a skills assessment at all.
• Lodging from overseas. For the main streams you must be in Australia when you apply. A holiday at the wrong moment can cost the visa.

Practical Tips

• Run your timeline backwards from completion. English test, AFP check and OVHC should all be arranged in your final semester, not after results day.
• Check your CRICOS course duration on paper. Confirm the registered weeks of your course (and any credit granted) with your provider in writing before you finish, so a study-requirement problem surfaces while it can still be fixed.
• Consider the regional option early. Studying and living in a designated regional area can add a second 485 of one or two years and may help later skilled applications — but only if the study and residence genuinely happen there.
• Keep certified copies of everything. Completion letters, transcripts, test results, insurance certificates and police checks — Home Affairs requests move faster when the file is already assembled.
• Spend the 485 years on skilled experience. Work in your nominated occupation, keep payslips and references, and track your points position from month one rather than month twenty-three.
• Verify the charge on lodgement day. Charges changed twice in 2026 (AUD 4,600, then AUD 5,750 from 1 July 2026). The Home Affairs pricing estimator, not any guide — including this one — is the final word on the day you pay.

Subclass 485 vs Subclass 500: What Actually Changes

Students often underestimate how different life is on the two visas, and the differences drive the planning in this guide. On a Subclass 500 student visa, work is capped at 48 hours per fortnight during term, your enrolment in a CRICOS-registered course is the foundation of your stay, and your health cover is OSHC arranged for the student period. On a subclass 485, all three flip: work is unlimited and can be full time from day one; there is no enrolment requirement at all (you may study further if you wish, but nothing obliges you to); and your cover must transition to OVHC, because OSHC is a student product that does not satisfy the 485 insurance requirement once you are a graduate visa holder. Your obligations change too — instead of attendance and course progress, what matters is simply the fixed expiry date printed on your grant notice, because the 485 cannot be extended in its main streams and there is no “renewal” application waiting at the end.

The financial relationship reverses as well. The student visa demanded proof of capacity before arrival — AUD 29,710 per year in living-cost capacity for the main applicant under current settings, plus AUD 10,394 for a partner and AUD 4,449 per child, on top of the AUD 2,500 visa charge that has applied since 1 July 2026 (AUD 2,050 for some ELICOS, ASEAN and Pacific applicants). The 485 demands no funds evidence of that kind, but its AUD 5,750 charge is the largest single visa fee most graduates will ever pay, and it falls due at exactly the moment — the end of a course — when savings are thinnest. Students who treat the 485 charge as a known final-semester expense, in the same budget line as the original student visa costs, are the ones who lodge early and calmly inside their six-month window instead of scrambling at its edge.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How long can I stay on a subclass 485?

In the Post-Higher Education Work stream: two years for a bachelor’s degree, two years for a master’s by coursework, three years for a master’s by research and three years for a PhD. The Post-Vocational Education Work stream gives up to 18 months. Regional graduates may add a second visa of one or two years. Hong Kong and BNO passport holders have separate longer arrangements — check the Home Affairs page for your passport.

2. How much does the 485 visa cost in 2026?

From 1 July 2026 the visa application charge is AUD 5,750 for the primary applicant in the Post-Higher Education and Post-Vocational streams, plus AUD 2,875 for each additional applicant aged 18 or over and AUD 1,450 for each under 18. The Second Post-Higher Education Work stream charge is AUD 2,265 for the primary applicant. Confirm the amount in the Home Affairs pricing estimator when you lodge, as charges change.

3. What English score do I need for a 485?

IELTS 6.5 overall with at least 5.5 in each component, or the equivalent in another test Home Affairs accepts, from a test taken within the 12 months before you apply. Duolingo is not accepted by the Department of Home Affairs. This is a higher bar than the student visa English floor, so do not assume the score that got you into your course will satisfy the 485.

4. I am 36 — can I still apply?

For most applicants, no: the limit is 35 or under at the time you apply. The exceptions are master’s by research and PhD graduates, and Hong Kong and British National (Overseas) passport holders, who may apply up to age 50. If you are approaching 35, treat the application as urgent and lodge as soon as you are eligible rather than waiting for the graduation ceremony.

5. Do I need a skills assessment?

Only in the Post-Vocational Education Work stream, where your qualification must also relate to an occupation on the relevant skilled occupation list. Post-Higher Education Work stream applicants do not need a skills assessment, an occupation listing or a job offer.

6. Can I apply for the 485 from outside Australia?

For the main streams, no — you must be in Australia when you apply, you must apply within six months of completing your course, and you must have held a student visa in the previous six months. If your student visa is about to expire after lodgement, the bridging visa granted with your application keeps you lawful while you wait for a decision.

7. Does the 485 lead to permanent residence?

Not directly. It is a temporary visa. It gives you full work rights and time to build Australian skilled experience, which can support a later skilled migration or employer-sponsored application — a separate process with its own points, invitations and decisions. No outcome can be promised.

8. What health insurance do I need?

You must hold adequate health insurance for your time in Australia on the 485 — in practice an Overseas Visitor Health Cover (OVHC) policy once your student visa period ends. Check the exact end date of your OSHC and start the OVHC so there is no uninsured gap, for you and for any family members included in the application.

Sources & Verification

• Department of Home Affairs — Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) (streams, eligibility, stay periods)
• Department of Home Affairs — Meeting the subclass 485 Australian study requirement (92 weeks / 16 months rules)
• Department of Home Affairs — Visa application charges explained (how charges, additional applicant charges and the pricing estimator work)

Figures and rules change — always confirm on the official government website before applying. Charges, durations and English settings in this guide were checked against Department of Home Affairs sources in October 2026.

Disclaimer: StudyGraduate is an information portal, not a migration agency, consultancy or law firm. This guide is general information only and is not migration advice. We never promise visa approval, a job or permanent residence. For advice on your individual circumstances, consult a migration agent registered with OMARA or check the Department of Home Affairs directly.