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

At a Glance

Item	Details
Visa name	Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485)
Stream	Second Post-Higher Education Work
Purpose	Regional graduate temporary stay
Stay	1 or 2 years
Cost	From AUD2,265
Apply from	Australia only
Eligibility timing	Two regional years immediately before applying
Age	35 or under; exceptions apply
Work rights	Work anywhere permitted by conditions
Study	Study in Australia
Medicare	Medicare evidence may be accepted
Health insurance	Required throughout Australian stay
Travel facility	Multiple entry while valid
Citizenship	Not stated in the source
Permanent residence	Hong Kong holders may have pathway
Family sponsorship	Include family; subsequent entrants allowed
Visa record	Digitally linked; no passport label
Processing	Use processing-time guide
Employment	Find your own work

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Purpose

This temporary visa is for eligible Temporary Graduate visa holders who completed a degree at an Australian institution in a designated regional area. It allows you to live, work and study in Australia temporarily.

Stay

The visa is granted for:

• 1 year if you studied and lived in a Category 2 designated regional area.
• 2 years if you studied and lived in a Category 3 designated regional area.
• 2 years for specified Category 2 and Category 3 Tasmania combinations.

If you moved between regional categories, the shorter visa period generally applies, unless you lived in Category 2 and Category 3 areas in Tasmania.

Time outside Australia does not extend the visa.

Cost

The main applicant charge starts from AUD2,265. Additional charges apply for family members.

You might also pay for:

• Health examinations
• Police certificates
• Biometrics

The visa is exempt from the Subsequent Temporary Application Charge.

Pacific Island and Timor-Leste concession

A lower charge applies to eligible primary applicants holding valid passports from:

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

Eligible family members can receive the lower charge based on the primary applicant’s passport.

Eligibility

You must:

• Be 35 years old or under when applying.
• Be in Australia, but not in immigration clearance, when applying.
• Hold a valid Temporary Graduate visa in the Post-Higher Education Work, Post-Study Work or Replacement stream.
• Have held your first Temporary Graduate visa as the main applicant in the Post-Higher Education Work or Post-Study Work stream.
• Have completed the qualification used for your first eligible Temporary Graduate visa at a CRICOS-registered, degree-level Australian provider in a designated regional area.
• Have lived only in a designated regional area for at least two years immediately before applying.
• Continue to live in a designated regional area when applying.
• Hold and maintain adequate health insurance for your Australian stay.
• Meet health and character requirements.
• Have no outstanding Australian Government debt, or have arrangements to repay it.

Age exceptions

You can be under 50 when applying if you:

• Used a Masters by research or doctoral degree for your earlier eligible Temporary Graduate visa; or
• Hold a Hong Kong or British National Overseas passport.

Previous visa restrictions

You are not eligible if you have been the primary holder of:

• A Post-Vocational Education Work stream visa, previously Graduate Work stream;
• A Second Post-Higher Education Work stream visa, previously Second Post-Study Work stream; or
• A Skilled—Recognised Graduate visa (subclass 476).

A history of visa cancellation or refusal may affect eligibility.

Regional residence and study rules

Your earlier qualification must have been completed at a campus in a designated regional area.

While holding the eligible Temporary Graduate or Replacement visa, you must have lived only in a designated regional area for the two years immediately before applying.

If you worked or studied during that period, the work or study must have occurred in a designated regional area. The Department may request further evidence.

Short holidays or short work trips away from your usual residence do not change the assessment of your usual residence.

You are not eligible if your relevant study location was Sydney, Brisbane or Melbourne.

Rights and conditions

With this visa, you can:

• Live in Australia temporarily.
• Work in Australia.
• Study in Australia.
• Travel in and out of Australia any number of times while the visa remains valid.
• Include eligible family members.

You must find your own employment.

You and your family members must obey Australian laws and meet all visa conditions. Check your grant letter or VEVO for current conditions.

Health insurance and Medicare

You and all applying family members must have adequate health insurance and maintain it for the duration of your stay.

Health insurance evidence may include:

• A signed letter from an insurer
• A Medicare card
• Proof of Medicare enrolment
• Health insurance evidence

Some countries have reciprocal healthcare agreements with Australia.

Family provisions

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

Before a decision, you can add only dependent children. You cannot add other family members during that period.

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

Dependent children

Children aged 18 or under require identity and relationship evidence.

A child over 18 must generally be:

• Under 23 and dependent on you or your partner; or
• Over 23 and unable to support themselves because of physical or cognitive limitations.

For a child under 18 migrating without a person with parental responsibility, provide consent, a court order, or evidence that home-country law permits migration.

Newborn children

A child born after application but before decision is taken to have made the same application. Notify the Department promptly and provide the birth certificate, Form 1022 and supporting documents.

Required documents

Provide clear colour scans or photographs of documents. Include English translations for non-English documents.

Key evidence includes:

• Current passport identity pages
• National identity card, if available
• Name-change evidence, if applicable
• Evidence of two years’ regional residence
• Evidence that regional work or study occurred regionally
• Adequate health insurance evidence
• Australian Federal Police National Police Certificate
• Overseas police certificates, if required
• Military records, if applicable
• Family relationship and dependency evidence
• Child custody or consent documents, if applicable

Regional residence evidence can include:

• Driver licence
• Utility bills
• Tenancy agreements or mortgage documents
• Bank statements
• Children’s school documents

For Australian Federal Police checks, only a complete disclosure National Police Certificate for Immigration/Citizenship—Australia Name Check Only is accepted.

Application steps

1. Ensure you have lived in a designated regional area for two years.
2. Apply while holding a valid eligible Temporary Graduate or Replacement visa.
3. Obtain a valid passport and check visa conditions.
4. Gather identity, residence, work or study, insurance, character and family documents.
5. Create or log in to ImmiAccount.
6. Lodge the application online, attach documents and pay all required charges.
7. Respond to Department requests through ImmiAccount.

A valid application must be made within the eligibility timeframe. Late applications cannot be accepted.

Applications are received in Australian Eastern Standard Time or Australian Eastern Daylight Time, when applicable.

After applying

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

Keep a valid visa while your application is processed. A bridging visa may allow you to remain lawfully in Australia if your current visa expires.

Do not cancel your current visa. Doing so may make you unlawful.

Notify the Department of changes to your:

• Address, telephone number, email or passport
• Relationship status
• Family circumstances, including a child’s birth
• Application details or incorrect answers

Use Form 1023 to correct incorrect answers. Use Form 1022 to notify changes in circumstances.

Processing

Use the Department’s processing-time guide for recently decided applications. Processing times are indicative and not specific to an application.

Applications may take longer if they are incomplete, further information is needed, or information requires verification. The Department cannot process an application until the correct Visa Application Charge is paid.

Important warnings

• A “No Further Stay” condition 8503 or 8534 prevents online application; submit an ImmiAccount technical support form.
• Provide complete and accurate information when lodging. The Department can decide using the information provided.
• You must sign the Australian Values Statement if aged 18 or over.
• Visa refusal does not result in a refund of the application charge.
• If granted this visa, consider withdrawing other undecided visa applications; otherwise, you may be granted a different visa.
• The visa is digitally linked to your passport; no visa label is issued.