Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) fee doubled

The Australian Government has a practice to revise their charges in about February and July each year as part of the management of the Australian immigration policy.

However, last years changes seem modest in comparison to the change that happened over the weekend as the government doubled the cost of the Temporary Graduate visa subclass 485 charges from $2300 to $4600. The were no announcements made to the industry or otherwise in respect of the proposed changes in the application fees.

This visa allows eligible international students to remain in Australia temporarily after completing their studies in Australia with an Australian education provider providing full work rights. The aim is to enable graduates to gain skilled employment work experience which aligns with their qualifications.

Not only have charges doubled for the primary applicant but charges for all dependents will double as well. As of 1 March, dependent applicants aged 18 years or more are $2300, those under 18 years of age $1160. These increases are effective immediately. This increase does not apply to eligible Pacific Island and Timor-Leste applicants.

The Department of Home Affairs has said that the jump is part of a broad effort to ‘restore integrity’ to the post-study work route, which they say has not been used as intended.

Ongoing changes in charges and changes to visa rules point to a government aiming to cut back migration number significantly. However, there is no cap on the number of 485 visa holders. There is a cap in respect of student visa introduced in 2025 with 270,000 new student places, and for 2026 there are 295,000 with the capping last year there was also a rise in the student visa application costs mid year.

The estimated value of the international education in Australia for FY2025 is about $23.5 billion in tuition fees and $29.9 billion in other goods and services spent by international students in Australia. These new changes will affect the international education sector in a number of ways and will likely risk threatening Australia’s competitiveness as a study destination.

Photo by Alice L on Unsplash