485 Post-Higher Education Work Stream Visa
From 1 July 2026 the Visa Application Charge (VAC) for a Subclass 485 visa is $5,750 for the main applicant, $2,875 for each additional applicant aged 18 or over and $1,450 for each additional applicant under 18.
The Post Study Work stream of the 485 visa (PSWV) is now called the Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) Post-Higher Education Work stream and is a work visa lasting 2 to 3 years for most applicants (up to 5 years for Hong Kong and BNO passport holders). You need to have completed a bachelor, masters or doctorate degree in Australia that took at least 2 academic years. Since 14 December 2024 a graduate certificate on its own does not qualify, and a graduate diploma only counts in limited cases. The main applicant must be under 35 when applying (under 50 for masters by research and PhD graduates and for Hong Kong and BNO passport holders).
It is a great option for students who would like to extend their stay in Australia after their studies. It also helps those who are seeking to stay in Australia permanently – either through General Skilled Migration or employer sponsorship.
- There is NO occupations list for the Post Study Work Visa – the area of specialisation is not relevant providing your studies are at the right level.
- Skills assessment is NOT required for the post study work visa.
The visa has full work rights, and also full study rights. It allows you to travel freely to and from Australia during the validity of the visa.
Post-Higher Education Work stream applications are currently processed in 5 days (50% of applications) and 55 days (90% of applications).
See the latest 485 visa changes and updates:
End of the two-year extension of post-study work rights
The extended post-study work rights, which gave graduates with select degrees in skill shortage areas an additional two years on their Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485), ended on 1 July 2024. New applicants now receive the standard stay periods for their qualification, plus any extra years available for study and living in a regional area.
| VALIDITY PERIOD | 485 is a temporary visa. The length of your stay in Australia will depend on the level of your Australian study qualification. Stay periods from 1 July 2024 are:
Home Affairs will determine the stay period for graduate certificates or graduate diplomas by the course they were packaged with. The length of stay for Indian nationals, as agreed in the Australia India – Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (AI-ECTA), is as follows:
Hong Kong and British National Overseas passport holders may stay up to 5 years. The visa starts on the date we grant the visa. You can travel in and out of Australia while the visa is valid.
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| FIRST STUDENT VISA REQUIREMENT
You can only qualify for a Post Study Work Visa if you have applied for and been granted your first student visa on or after 5 November 2011. If you have held a student visa which you applied for prior to 5 November 2011, then you are not eligible. This would include situations where you have studied and returned to your home country, have held a visa to study non-award courses or English courses, or even if you held a student visa as a dependent. Even if you hold a student visa which you did apply for on or after 5 November 2011, you will still be ineligible if you have held a student visa which you applied for prior to this date. Note that it is the date you applied for the visa which is critical, not the date of grant. If you made a student visa application prior to 5 November 2011 but it was not approved (eg due to refusal or because you withdrew your application), then you may still be eligible. |
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| AUSTRALIAN STUDY REQUIREMENTS | You must complete a course or series of courses in Australia which take at least 2 academic years. There are a number of requirements:
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| ENGLISH LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS | You will need to establish your English language ability when you lodge your 485 visa application.
You can show this in one of the following ways:
The test must have been taken no more than 1 year before you apply. Hong Kong and BNO passport holders need IELTS 6.0 with at least 5.0 in each band (or equivalent). |
| HEALTH INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS | You will need to show that you have adequate arrangements for health insurance when your 485 visa is granted. Whilst it is OK to have OSHC (Overseas Student Health Cover) at the time of application, you will need Working Visa cover for approval of your 485 visa.
You also need to maintain your Working Visa cover whilst you hold your 485 visa. If you do not maintain this level of cover, your 485 visa might be cancelled. |
| HEALTH CHECK | You would generally need to do medicals for grant of a 485 visa. If you’ve recently applied for a student visa extension, you may be able to re-use these medicals. |
| POLICE CHECKS | You will need an Australian Federal Police (AFP) Check for yourself and any members of your family aged 16 or over. You must apply for the AFP checks prior to lodgement of your 485 visa and include evidence of this with your application. |
| TIME LIMITS | You must apply for your 485 visa within 6 months of completion of your Australian studies. You must either hold a student visa when you apply, or to have held a student visa within the last 6 months. You must also make sure that you apply prior to expiry of your student visa, or at least have applied for another visa and are on a bridging A or B visa when the 485 application is lodged. |
| BRIDGING VISA | When you apply for your 485 visa, you would in general receive a Bridging A visa allowing you to remain in Australia during processing of your 485 visa application.
The Bridging A visa has full work rights. If you held a substantive visa (eg student visa) when you apply for your 485, the work rights on the bridging visa will come into effect when the substantive visa expires. The Bridging A visa may cease if you depart Australia. If you wish to travel whilst waiting for a decision on your 485 visa, you may wish to apply for a Bridging Visa B to facilitate your travel. |
Skilled visa guides
- Skilled visas Australia
- Skilled Independent visa (189)
- Skilled Nominated visa (190)
- Skilled Work Regional visa (491)
- Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) visa (191)
- Temporary Graduate visa (485)
- National Innovation visa (858)
- Skilled visa points table
- Skilled occupation list
- Skilled visa costs
- Skilled visa processing times
- Skilled visa assessment
Migration Amendment (Graduate Visas No. 2) Regulations 2024 – this instrument includes an express definition of ‘degree’, specifically for the purposes of the Sc 485 visa and ensures that the Sc 485 visa criteria operate as intended following the 1 July 2024 changes to the Sc 485 Post Higher Education Work (PHEW) stream.
New subclause 485.231(1A) of Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations requires an applicant for an initial Subclass 485 visa in the PHEW stream, in the period six (6) months immediately before the application for that visa was made, to have completed one or more degrees for award by an Australian educational institutions as a result of a course or courses:
- that are registered courses (see paragraph 485.231(1B)(a) of Schedule 2); and
- that were completed in a total of at least 16 calendar months (see paragraph 485.231(1B)(b) of Schedule 2); and
- that were completed as a result of a total of at least two (2) academic years study (see paragraph 485.231(1B)(c) of Schedule 2); and
- for which all instruction was conducted in English (see paragraph 485.231(1B)(d) of Schedule 2); and
- that the applicant undertook while in Australia as the holder of a visa authorising the applicant to study (see paragraph 485.231(1B)(e) of Schedule 2)
This instrument commenced on 14 December 2024.
Online study and the Australian Study Requirement
Online study completed between 1 February 2020 and 25 November 2023 (the COVID concession period) continues to count towards the Australian Study Requirement (ASR). Study completed online after 25 November 2023 does not count.
Can a Graduate Diploma or Graduate Certificate qualify for a Subclass 485 Post-Higher Education Work visa?
It depends on the qualification and when the visa application is lodged.
For Subclass 485 Post-Higher Education Work (PHEW) stream applications lodged on or after 14 December 2024, a Graduate Certificate on its own is generally not an eligible qualification for the visa.
A Graduate Diploma may still be eligible, but only in limited circumstances. The Graduate Diploma must be closely related to a completed bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral degree, and it must normally be commenced in the same academic year or the academic year immediately following completion of that degree.
The changes were introduced to ensure that the Post-Higher Education Work stream is primarily available to graduates who have completed higher education qualifications at degree level or above, rather than shorter postgraduate courses.
If a Graduate Diploma is being relied upon for a Subclass 485 application, it is important to carefully assess the applicant’s study pathway and the relationship between the Graduate Diploma and any previous degree qualifications before lodging the visa application.
These changes apply to Post-Higher Education Work stream applications lodged on or after 14 December 2024. Applications lodged before that date are assessed under the previous rules.
