Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485)
Subclass 485 is a temporary visa for international students after they finish studying. It is current, it has three streams, and the level of qualification is what selects the stream. One further stream ceased on 1 July 2024, and keeping that separate from the current ones matters.
It sets out what the Department states about this visa and each of its streams, and where every point comes from. It is an overview, not the law: it names what the official pages name, it never carries a rule from one stream to another, and it does not tell you whether you qualify — that depends on your circumstances, and it is what an appointment is for.
What the official page says
Each row below links the official page it comes from.
- Official title — Temporary Graduate visa - Subclass 485
- How the Department describes it — A temporary visa that allows international students to live, study and work after you have finished your studies.
- Status of the subclass — CURRENT. It is listed in a current section of the Department's own visa listing and has its own page and streams.
- What selects the stream — The level of qualification, per the Department's 1 July 2024 changes page.
The current streams, and the one that ceased
Each row is sourced from that stream’s own official page. Where a stream’s detail was not part of the read, the stream is named and linked and its requirements are left to it.
- Post-Vocational Education Work stream — For an associate degree, diploma or trade qualification related to an occupation on the relevant list. A temporary stream to live, study and work, of up to 18 months. Its page gives an age limit of 35 or under, WITH EXCEPTIONS THAT PAGE STATES. It also turns on holding an eligible visa and on student visa timing, a relevant occupation and skills assessment, and insurance, an Australian Federal Police check and English. No figure or fee is stated here.
- Post-Higher Education Work stream — For a recent degree from an Australian institution — its page covers bachelor and honours, masters and doctoral qualifications. A temporary stream to live, work and study, USUALLY TWO TO THREE YEARS DEPENDING ON THE QUALIFICATION. Its page gives an age limit of GENERALLY 35 OR UNDER, WITH EXCEPTIONS THAT PAGE STATES. It also requires being in Australia when you apply, holding an eligible visa with a Student visa in the last six months, a recent degree in a CRICOS-registered course, and evidence of health insurance, an Australian Federal Police check application and English. No figure or fee is stated here.
- Second Post-Higher Education Work stream — For people already in the first-485 and regional context its page describes. Its stay runs one to two years depending on regional factors set out there. Whether a particular person is eligible is decided on that page's criteria, and nothing here promises it.
- Replacement stream — CEASED — No longer available to new primary applicants. See the next band; its criteria appear nowhere on this page.
What changed on 1 July 2024
The Department publishes its own changes page for this visa, and four things on it matter for reading anything older. The Graduate Work stream was RENAMED Post-Vocational Education Work. The Post-Study Work stream was RENAMED Post-Higher Education Work. The LEVEL OF QUALIFICATION now selects which stream applies. Age and stay arrangements changed. And the REPLACEMENT STREAM CEASED — its own repealed-visa notice states: “You can no longer apply for a Temporary Graduate (Replacement stream) visa (subclass 485) as a primary applicant. It was closed to new applications from 1 July 2024.” SUBCLASS 485 ITSELF REMAINS CURRENT: the closure is stream-level. Two consequences this page holds to: older material using the former stream names is describing renamed streams rather than different ones, and NOTHING FROM THE CLOSED REPLACEMENT STREAM IS DESCRIBED HERE AS IF IT STILL APPLIED.
Where the requirements and the application are published
- Temporary Graduate visa - Subclass 485 — Department of Home Affairs — The page that governs, and the one that links every stream.
- Post-Vocational Education Work stream — official page — The stream this page's Post-Vocational Education Work content comes from, including the age exceptions it states and this page does not list.
- Post-Higher Education Work stream — official page — The degree-based stream. Its requirements are summarised above from this official page and kept separate from the other streams.
- Second Post-Higher Education Work stream — official page — Its context, its regional factors and its one-to-two-year stay are set out here. Eligibility is decided on this page, not ours.
- Changes to the Temporary Graduate visa — the Department's own changes page — The source for the 1 July 2024 renaming, the qualification level selecting the stream, the age and stay changes, and the Replacement stream ceasing.
- Temporary Graduate (Replacement stream) visa — REPEALED notice — The Department's own notice that this stream closed to new primary applicants from 1 July 2024. Cited for the closure, NOT for any requirement.
- Visa Pricing Estimator — The Department's own tool for what an application costs. This page states no figure and no threshold.
- Global visa processing times — A live tool. Nothing is quoted from it here: it shows recently decided applications, is a guide only, and is not specific to your application.
- Who can help with your application — Worth reading before you pay anybody for immigration assistance.
What to have ready
Preparation examples, not a checklist of requirements. The stream’s own official page sets out what is actually required, and what a particular application needs depends on the circumstances.
- Which qualification you hold, and at what level — it is what selects the stream
- Your completion documents: what you studied, where, and when it finished
- Your student visa and any other visa you hold, with subclass and expiry dates
- Your date of birth, because two of the streams turn on age arrangements
- Any skills assessment for a relevant occupation, with its date
- Your health insurance arrangements
- Your Australian Federal Police check, and when it was obtained
- Any English language test result you hold, with its date and test type
- If a regional stream is in play, where you studied and where you have lived
- Any previous visa refusal or cancellation, with its reference number
The current subclass page presents three streams: Post-Vocational Education Work, Post-Higher Education Work, and Second Post-Higher Education Work. This page does not claim that every stream is open to every applicant; each has its own requirements. https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-listing/temporary-graduate-485/ https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-listing/temporary-graduate-485/changes
Its page describes an associate degree, diploma or trade qualification related to an occupation on the relevant list, and a temporary stay of up to 18 months to live, study and work. It gives an age limit of 35 or under, with exceptions that page states and that are not listed here. It also turns on holding an eligible visa and on student visa timing, a relevant occupation and skills assessment, and insurance, an Australian Federal Police check and English. https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-listing/temporary-graduate-485/post-vocational-education-work
Its own page describes a recent degree from an Australian institution — bachelor and honours, masters and doctoral qualifications — and a temporary stay to live, work and study of usually two to three years depending on the qualification. It gives an age limit of generally 35 or under, with exceptions that page states and that are not listed here. It also requires being in Australia when you apply, holding an eligible visa with a Student visa in the last six months, a recent degree in a CRICOS-registered course, and evidence of health insurance, an Australian Federal Police check application and English. The Post-Vocational Education Work criteria are separate and do not apply here. https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-listing/temporary-graduate-485/post-higher-education-work
A further stream for people already in the first-485 and regional context its page describes. Its stay runs one to two years depending on regional factors set out there. Whether a particular person is eligible is decided on that page's criteria — this page does not promise it. https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-listing/temporary-graduate-485/second-post-higher-education-work
On the Department's own changes page: the Graduate Work stream was renamed Post-Vocational Education Work, the Post-Study Work stream was renamed Post-Higher Education Work, the level of qualification now selects the stream, age and stay arrangements changed, and the Replacement stream ceased. Subclass 485 itself remains current. Older material using the former names is describing renamed streams, not different ones. https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-listing/temporary-graduate-485/changes
No. The Department's notice says: “You can no longer apply for a Temporary Graduate (Replacement stream) visa (subclass 485) as a primary applicant. It was closed to new applications from 1 July 2024.” It is quoted rather than paraphrased because the wording is the point. The closure is stream-level — the subclass is current — and none of that stream's criteria is carried into any current stream. https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-listing/repealed-visas/temporary-graduate-replacement-stream-visa-subclass-485
Talk to somebody about your own situation
This page explains how the visa is structured and what to prepare. What applies to you depends on your circumstances.
General information about Australian visa processes, not legal advice about your situation. Legal services are provided by Jameson Law.