485 Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) – Post-Vocational Education Work stream

At a Glance

Item	Details
Visa name	Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485)
Stream	Post-Vocational Education Work
Purpose	Recent vocational graduate work pathway
Stay	Up to 18 months
Hong Kong/BNO stay	Up to 5 years
Cost	From AUD5,750
Apply from	Australia; not immigration clearance
Decision location	In or outside Australia
Age	35 or under
Hong Kong/BNO age	Under 50
Work rights	Work without stated limits
Study	Study permitted
Medicare	Not stated in the source
Health insurance	Required throughout stay
Travel facility	Multiple entry while valid
Visa extension	Cannot be extended
Citizenship	Not stated in the source
Family sponsorship	Family may apply or join later
Visa record	Digitally linked; no label
Processing	Check processing-time guide
Occupation requirement	MLTSSL nominated occupation
Skills assessment	Assessment or application evidence required

---

Purpose and rights

This temporary visa is for international students who recently completed an associate degree, diploma or trade qualification closely related to an occupation Australia needs.

You can:

• Live in Australia temporarily.
• Work, study and travel during the visa period.
• Travel in and out of Australia as often as you wish while the visa remains valid.
• Include eligible family members in your application.

You must find your own employment.

The visa starts on the grant date. Time spent outside Australia does not extend it.

Stay and travel

The usual stay is 18 months.

Holders of a Hong Kong or British National (Overseas) passport may stay for up to 5 years.

The visa cannot be extended. You may be eligible for another skilled work visa. Current and future Temporary Graduate visa holders from Hong Kong may have a pathway to permanent residency after 5 years.

Eligibility

You must meet all relevant criteria, including the following.

Age

• Be 35 years old or younger when applying.
• Hong Kong and British National (Overseas) passport holders may be under 50 when applying.

Location and previous visa

You must be in Australia, but not in immigration clearance, when applying.

You must either:

• Hold an eligible Student visa, excluding one supported by the Minister for Defence or Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade; or
• Have held a Student visa within the previous 6 months and now hold a substantive visa, Bridging Visa A or Bridging Visa B.

You must have completed your course within 6 months before applying.

You cannot be granted this visa as a primary applicant if you previously held a subclass 485 or 476 visa as a primary applicant.

Study and qualification

You must:

• Have been awarded an associate degree, diploma or trade qualification in the 6 months immediately before applying.
• Meet the Temporary Graduate visa study requirement.
• Use qualifications closely related to your nominated occupation.
• Meet the two-academic-year study component; more than one course may be used if each is closely related to the nominated occupation.

Online study completed during the COVID concession period, from 1 February 2020 to 25 November 2023, continues to count.

Occupation and skills assessment

You must:

• Nominate an occupation on the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List.
• Hold a closely related associate degree, diploma or trade qualification.
• Obtain a suitable skills assessment from the relevant assessing authority, or provide evidence that you have applied for one.

You cannot change your nominated occupation after lodging the application.

A skills assessment is valid for up to 3 years, unless it specifies a shorter validity period. Assessing authorities may require a higher study level than the visa stream requires.

English language

You meet the English requirement by holding a valid passport as a citizen of:

• United Kingdom
• United States
• Canada
• New Zealand
• Republic of Ireland

Otherwise, provide a qualifying English test result obtained within the 12 months immediately before applying.

For tests taken on or after 7 August 2025, the general minimum overall scores are:

Test	Minimum overall score
CELPIP General	8
IELTS Academic	6.5
IELTS General Training	6.5
LANGUAGECERT Academic	67
MET	58
OET	1310
PTE Academic	55
TOEFL iBT	81

Hong Kong and British National (Overseas) passport holders have lower required scores. For example, their minimum overall IELTS score is 6, PTE Academic score is 47, and TOEFL iBT score is 67.

IELTS One Skill Retake and MET Single Section Retake are accepted if completed before lodgement.

Health, character and other requirements

You and accompanying family members must:

• Meet the health requirement.
• Maintain adequate health insurance for the whole stay.
• Meet the character requirement.
• Repay or arrange repayment of any Australian Government debt.

Applicants aged 16 or older must provide evidence they applied for an Australian Federal Police (AFP) check within the 12 months ending the day before lodging. The AFP application must not be made on the same day as the visa application.

Only a complete disclosure AFP National Police Certificate for Immigration/Citizenship – Australia Name Check Only is accepted. State, territory, standard-disclosure and other organisation certificates are not accepted.

Applicants aged 18 or older must read or have explained the Life in Australia booklet and sign the Australian Values Statement.

A previous visa cancellation or refusal may affect eligibility.

Cost

The visa costs from AUD5,750 for the primary applicant.

Additional charges apply for each family member. Other possible costs include:

• Health examinations
• Police certificates
• Biometrics
• Skills assessment

The visa is exempt from the Subsequent Temporary Application Charge.

Pacific and Timor-Leste concession

A lower visa charge applies to eligible citizens of:

• Federated States of Micronesia
• Fiji
• Kiribati
• Nauru
• Palau
• Papua New Guinea
• Republic of the Marshall Islands
• Samoa
• Solomon Islands
• Timor-Leste
• Tonga
• Tuvalu
• Vanuatu

Eligibility is identified through the valid passport used in ImmiAccount. Family members may receive the concession based on the primary applicant's or visa holder's passport.

Family provisions

You may include members of your family unit when applying if they are in Australia.

Before a decision, you may add only a dependent child. You cannot add other family members after lodgement.

After grant, eligible family members may apply as subsequent entrants from inside or outside Australia. They must meet health and character requirements.

Partner evidence

Provide identity and character documents, plus:

• Marriage certificate or evidence the marriage is valid in Australia; or
• Evidence of a de facto relationship.

For a de facto partner, provide evidence of at least 12 months' relationship before applying, unless the relationship is registered in a participating Australian state or territory.

Dependent children

A child over 18 must generally be under 23 and dependent on you or your partner. A child aged 23 or over must be dependent because of physical or cognitive limitations.

For children under 18, obtain consent from a non-migrating person with legal responsibility, using Form 1229 or a statutory declaration, unless you provide an applicable court order or evidence home-country law permits migration.

Required documents

Prepare clear colour scans or photographs. Translate non-English documents into English and provide both originals and translations. Documents do not need certification.

Key documents include:

• Valid passport identity pages.
• National identity card, if available.
• Name-change evidence, if applicable.
• Course completion and study evidence.
• English-language evidence.
• Skills assessment or proof you applied for one.
• Health insurance evidence, such as insurer letter, policy evidence, Medicare card or Medicare enrolment proof.
• AFP check application evidence for each applicant aged 16 or older.
• Form 80 and Form 1221.
• Family relationship, dependency and custody documents, where applicable.

Overseas police certificates, military records or discharge papers may also be requested.

How to apply

1. Confirm eligibility and timing. Apply within the required six-month period after completing your course.
2. Arrange a skills assessment. Obtain it or evidence that you have applied.
3. Obtain an AFP check receipt. Apply no earlier than 12 months before, and no later than the day before, lodgement.
4. Gather documents. Include study, English, health insurance, identity and family evidence.
5. Apply online through ImmiAccount.
6. Attach documents and pay all charges. Each family member requires a paid application and documents.

You must attach, at lodgement:

• Successful course completion evidence.
• Required English evidence.
• AFP check application evidence for applicants aged 16 or over.
• Adequate health insurance evidence for all applicants.
• Skills assessment application evidence.

Choose the visa stream carefully: changes cannot be made after applying. Late applications cannot be accepted. Applications are received in Australian Eastern Standard Time or Australian Eastern Daylight Time, where applicable.

After applying

You may be in or outside Australia, but not in immigration clearance, when the decision is made.

If your current visa expires while the application is being processed, your bridging visa allows you to remain lawfully in Australia. Do not cancel your current visa, as this may make you unlawful.

Tell the Department promptly about changes to your:

• Address, phone number, email or passport
• Relationship status
• Child's birth
• Application information or errors
• Intention to withdraw the application

Use Form 1023 to correct incorrect answers. Use Form 1436 to request adding an eligible dependent child after lodgement. A child born after lodgement but before decision is taken to have made the same application; notify the Department and provide Form 1022 and supporting documents.

Obligations and important warnings

You and your family members must comply with all visa conditions and Australian laws.

Check conditions through VEVO or your visa grant letter.

If granted, keep the visa grant email, which states your visa grant number, grant date and conditions.

The visa is digitally linked to your passport; no passport label is issued.

If another visa application remains undecided after this visa is granted, consider withdrawing it in writing. Otherwise, you may be granted a different visa.