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The 485 visa in Australia lets you stay in Australia and work full-time after you graduate, for anywhere between 18 months and 5 years. If your CRICOS course has just wrapped, or is about to, the six months in front of you decide the next decade. Lodge cleanly, and you buy up to five years of work rights plus a genuine run at Australian permanent residency.
Somewhere in between? A consultation with The Migration sorts that out before you spend anything on the application.
It is the visa that turns an Australian qualification into Australian work experience, and that experience is what the PR pathways reward.
The Subclass 485 visa needs no employer and no state nomination. You qualify on your own study, age and English.
Student visa holders are limited to 48 hours a fortnight. On a 485, you can work full-time for any employer, in any job.
Skilled visas such as the 189, 190 and 491 give points for Australian work experience. Employer routes such as the 482 and 186 need it too.
You can hold a 485 as the main applicant only once, apart from the regional second visa. You cannot change stream after lodging, and Home Affairs does not refund the charge if you are refused.
Most 485 refusals start before lodgement, not during processing. Home Affairs expects every document to be attached on the day you apply. These are the four details that catch graduates out most often.
The 6 months run from your course completion date, usually on your completion letter. Not from your graduation ceremony.
Your qualification sets your stream. Pick the wrong one, and you cannot switch after lodging.
The test must be taken in the 12 months before you apply. A test that was fine at enrolment can be too old by lodgement day.
Home Affairs only accepts the AFP Immigration/Citizenship check (Name Check Only). State police checks are not accepted, and the AFP receipt can take up to 24 hours.
Your stream decides how long you stay. Home Affairs renamed the streams on 1 July 2024, so older guides may use the old names.
In short: most degree graduates belong in Post-Higher. Trade and diploma graduates need Post-Vocational and a skills assessment application. The regional stream is a second visa, not a first one. Source: Home Affairs stream pages, as at 29 October 2026.
Research Masters and PhD graduates in the Post-Higher streams, and Hong Kong or BN(O) passport holders, can apply while under 50.
You must be in Australia when you apply, hold an eligible visa, and have held a Student visa in the last 6 months.
At least 2 academic years (92 weeks) over at least 16 months in Australia, completed in the 6 months before you apply. See the Australian study requirement.
For tests taken on or after 7 August 2025: IELTS 6.5 overall with 5.5 in each part, or PTE Academic 55 overall (40 listening, 42 reading, 41 writing, 39 speaking). IELTS One Skill Retake results are accepted. See the full score table.
Evidence that you have applied for the AFP check is enough at lodgement.
Arrange cover that starts before your student cover ends.
The full document list is in the 485 visa document checklist, and each rule is explained in the 485 visa requirements guide.
Unsure about one of the six? The Migration checks each one against your documents before you lodge.
| Applicant | Post-Higher and Post-Vocational | Second Post-Higher |
|---|---|---|
| Main applicant | AUD 5,750 | AUD 2,265 |
| Each additional applicant 18+ | AUD 2,875 | AUD 1,140 |
| Each additional applicant under 18 | AUD 1,450 | AUD 575 |
The 485 is exempt from the Subsequent Temporary Application Charge. Budget beyond the charge for health checks, biometrics, your English test, health insurance and any skills assessment. Confirm the current figure with the Home Affairs Visa Pricing Estimator.
Pacific Island and Timor-Leste applicants: a lower charge applies to eligible citizens. Confirm before you lodge.
| Stream | 50% of applications finalised | 90% of applications finalised |
|---|---|---|
| Post-Higher Education Work | 5 days | 55 days |
| Post-Vocational Education Work | 52 days | 5 months |
6 months from course completion, with no extensions.
Figures updated by Home Affairs on 29 September 2026. If you hold a substantive visa when you lodge, you usually get a Bridging Visa A that keeps you lawful while you wait. Check the current processing times or the 485 processing time guide.
Any employer, any job, full-time. No sponsor, and no cap on hours.
You can take up further study while you hold the visa.
You can leave and return to Australia as often as you like while the visa is valid.
Your partner and children can be included if they are in Australia when you apply. Children can be added until a decision is made.
18 months to 5 years to build the work experience and points that skilled and employer visas reward. Check where you stand with the points calculator.
The Migration matches your qualification, age and passport to the stream that gives you the longest stay you qualify for, including the AI-ECTA and Hong Kong rules.
Completion letter, English test date, AFP receipt and health insurance are all reviewed before you pay AUD 5,750.
The team lodges in ImmiAccount, includes your family, tracks the application and answers any request for more information from Home Affairs.
You leave with a mapped pathway to the visa that comes after your 485, so the years on it count.
No agent can guarantee a visa outcome or a processing time. What The Migration does is make sure your application is complete, accurate and lodged in the right stream.
The Subclass 485 Temporary Graduate visa lets international students live, study and work in Australia after finishing a CRICOS course. It lasts 18 months to 5 years, depending on the stream, qualification and passport.
Passport, completion letter and transcripts, English test result, AFP check receipt, health insurance evidence and, for Post-Vocational, proof of a skills assessment application. The 485 visa document checklist breaks each one down.
No. The only way to stay longer on a 485 is the Second Post-Higher Education Work stream for regional graduates. Otherwise, you need a different visa before it ends. See what to do after a 485 visa expires.
Yes, but a new Student visa cannot be lodged from inside Australia while you hold a 485. It has to be lodged from outside Australia.
Not directly. It gives you the time and Australian work experience that skilled and employer-sponsored PR visas reward. Start planning in your first year on the visa.
From 1 July 2024, the streams were renamed, and the standard age limit became 35 or under. Tests taken on or after 7 August 2025 use new English score tables. Read the 485 visa new rules guide.
Home Affairs sends the reasons and states whether review is available. Review rights and deadlines are in the refusal letter, and reviews go to the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART). The Migration can go through the refusal reasons and explain the options.
No, you can apply yourself. An agent helps most when your stream, study history or English results are not straightforward, because the charge is not refunded if the application fails.
One wrong stream or an expired English test can cost you the whole AUD 5,750. In 30 minutes, a MARA-registered migration agent confirms your stream, your 6-month date and your evidence, and gives you a written quote before you go ahead.
