485 Graduate Visa: 2026 Application Checklist for Graduates

By Priya Nair Registered migration practitioner, educational briefing only

You finished an eligible CRICOS course and may be looking at Temporary Graduate (subclass 485).

This guide covers the tests, evidence, fees, and how to lodge. The department decides.

Table of contents

• What a 485 graduate visa lets you do
• 485 visa requirements you must meet
• How you apply for 485 visa subclass 485
• 485 visa fees, OSHC, and health cover
• 485 visa processing time and skilled next steps
• Sources
• FAQ
• Worked Example

What a 485 graduate visa lets you do

A 485 graduate visa is a temporary visa for people who recently completed eligible study in Australia.

Streams, stay periods, and work conditions sit on the official listing. You don't get a result until an officer decides your case.

Work and stay: A granted 485 visa generally permits work without the student-visa work-hour cap, but the exact conditions appear on the grant notice. Check the visa listing and your grant notice before starting work.

Travel in and out can be allowed while the visa remains in effect.

Who this is for: You're usually onshore on a student visa, or you recently held one. Your course must be CRICOS registered.

Your provider must have reported completion in the usual way.

The Australia 485 visa isn't a skilled permanent visa. The grant doesn't create a points score. Later skilled, partner, or employer visas are separate applications.

Streams: Published options include Post-Higher Education Work and Post-Vocational Work style streams. Names and stay lengths can change.

Read the live listing before you pick a stream.

How long you can stay on a 485 depends on your stream, qualification level, and any published regional or degree rules.

Don't copy a friend’s grant length. Check the instrument and the visa grant letter if you already hold one.

Family: Some partners and children can be included if they meet health and character tests. Each person needs identity documents.

Relationship evidence is required when you add a partner.

What you cannot assume: The visa isn't a job offer. State nomination isn't automatic.

A 485 graduate visa application doesn't pause other visa conditions until a bridging visa applies after a valid lodgement.

Practical use: Many graduates use the period to work in their field, sit skills assessments, or prepare a later skilled file.

Bodies such as VETASSESS and the Australian Computer Society assess occupations for some later skilled pathways. Those assessments are separate from the 485 application.

Those assessments aren't part of the 485 form itself.

Duration: Stay length is set by the stream, your qualification, and the visa decision. There is no standard self-service extension; any later visa is a new application.

Cost: Budget for the visa application charge, health cover, and any medical or police checks. Fees change, so verify the current amount on Home Affairs before paying.

Print a 485 graduate visa documents list early. Identity, study, English, and insurance take time. Next, match yourself against 485 visa requirements.

Review Free Immigration Templates & Checklists if you want a blank evidence tracker before you name files.

485 visa requirements you must meet

485 visa requirements sit on the Home Affairs Temporary Graduate page. You must meet them at the time you apply, and often until decision. An officer can ask for more evidence.

Age and timing: Age caps and application windows are published and can change.

Lodge while you still hold a substantive visa if the rules require that.

Don't wait until after your student visa ends if the instructions say you must apply onshore on a specified visa.

Study: You usually need an eligible qualification from a CRICOS course.

The Australian study requirement often needs a minimum duration in Australia. Online-only terms may not count.

Confirm dates on your transcript and completion letter.

English: 485 visa English requirements are set by instrument. Accepted tests can include IELTS, PTE, and others named by the department.

Scores and validity windows change. Check the current table, not a blog.

Health and character: Health examinations and police certificates are common. Start identity checks early if you lived in several countries.

Declare any convictions. False answers can raise character issues.

Insurance: Adequate health cover is usually required for the visa period. Student OSHC may not automatically continue. See the fees section for 485 visa health cover.

First 485: Many applicants can hold this visa only once in a lifetime, subject to publish exceptions. Read that rule before you lodge a second file.

Location: Most people apply in Australia. Offshore options, if any, are stated on the official page.

A Visitor visa (subclass 600) is a different visa with different conditions and work restrictions.

Student history: Your Student visa (subclass 500) record should show lawful study. Course changes should match what you reported.

485 graduate requirements also include a valid passport and correct identity details. Names must match across passport, completion letter, and English test.

Skills bodies: You do not usually attach a skills assessment for this visa. Keep NAATI or occupation papers only if you plan a later skilled file.

If 485 graduate eligibility is unclear, stop and read the live criteria. Next, follow the lodging sequence.

How you apply for 485 visa subclass 485

You lodge the subclass 485 application in ImmiAccount using the Home Affairs 485 listing as your current reference. Create or update the account before your student visa ends if the rules require an onshore application.

1. Confirm the stream and the date you became eligible.
2. Book English and health exams if your evidence will expire.
3. Collect passport bio pages, completion letters, and transcripts.
4. Arrange health insurance that covers the requested stay.
5. Complete the form, pay the charge, and upload files in PDF.
6. Note the transaction reference and watch ImmiAccount messages.

Bridging visas: A valid onshore lodgement can lead to a bridging visa when your student visa ends. Work conditions on the bridging visa can differ. Read the grant notice.

Biometrics and health: You may get a HAP ID or biometrics request. Book promptly. Delayed health can delay a decision.

Including family: Add partners and children in the same form when they're eligible. Extra charges apply. Relationship evidence should be consistent.

Common 485 graduate visa mistakes: Lodging after the window, using an expired English test, uploading uncertified scans, and mismatching names. Another error is claiming a qualification that isn't on CRICOS.

A 485 graduate application isn't a skills assessment. Don't attach unrelated occupation files unless asked.

If you cannot lodge: Leaving and returning on a Visitor visa does not recreate Student visa conditions. Partner visa options are a separate pathway.

Keep copies of every upload. Name files with document type and date. After lodgement, watch for s56 requests. Next, see a worked file.

485 visa fees, OSHC, and health cover

485 visa fees are the visa application charge plus extras you pay to third parties. The live 485 page lists the charge and extra applicant amounts.

Those figures change. Read that page on the day you pay.

Government charge: Pay inside ImmiAccount. Keep the receipt. Extra applicants add to the total. A later partner add-on can cost more than including them at lodgement.

English tests: PTE, IELTS, and other named tests have their own prices.

See Pearson PTE for booking information. The Home Affairs instrument and visa page—not a test provider’s marketing page—control the score and validity rules.

Health exams: Panel clinic fees vary by city and tests ordered. Chest x-ray and blood tests are common. Pay the clinic, not the department.

Police certificates: Australia and other countries of residence may charge. Processing can take weeks.

Insurance: Student OSHC often ends when the student visa ends. You usually need new cover for the Temporary Graduate period.

Insurers sell OVHC or similar products. Policy length should match the stay you request.

What not to do: Don't lodge with a one-month policy if the form asks for cover for the full period. Don't assume Medicare. Most 485 holders aren't eligible for Medicare.

Budget line items:

Use Pricing & Plans only if you want a professional file review quote. That's optional. A registered agent isn't required to lodge.

Pay the charge only when scans are ready. A paid empty file still starts the clock on requests. Next, plan wait time and later skilled steps without treating any date as a promise.

485 visa processing time and skilled next steps

Global processing percentiles appear on the department site for many visas. Those figures aren't a personal deadline.

Your 485 graduate visa processing time depends on identity checks, health, character, and whether the officer asks for more documents.

While you wait: Keep the passport valid. Don't travel without checking whether a bridging visa lets you return. Read the bridging visa grant if one is issued.

Work: If your student visa still runs, those work caps still apply until it ends. After a bridging visa starts, read that visa’s work condition.

After a 485 grant, read the grant notice.

Skilled next steps: If you want a points-tested visa later, start occupation research while you work.

A skills assessment from ACS, VETASSESS, or another named body is a separate process. English for skilled visas can differ from 485 scores.

State nomination: Each state publishes its own lists and windows. Nomination isn't part of the 485 form.

Partner pathways: If your relationship is the real basis for staying, read the partner visa instructions instead of stretching a graduate file.

IOM context: The International Organization for Migration publishes general migration information; it does not decide Australian visa applications.

Currentness: Rules, scores, and charges change. Recheck the Home Affairs website and the 485 listing before acting.

Don't treat a forum “average weeks” post as a rule. If an s56 request arrives, reply with the exact document named.

Keep your ImmiAccount email real. Missed mail is a common reason files stall.

If you receive a refusal, read the decision record and any review rights on the notice. Review bodies and deadlines are case-specific.

Next, use the FAQ for English, insurance, and document questions, then verify every figure on the official 485 page.

Sources

• Home Affairs — Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485)
• Home Affairs — Student visa (subclass 500)
• Home Affairs — Visitor visa (subclass 600)
• Department of Home Affairs
• NAATI
• VETASSESS
• Australian Computer Society
• Pearson PTE

Related guides

This page is educational only. It is not legal advice, not a migration agent appointment, and not a prediction of any visa outcome.

Confirm every rule, fee, and score on official Home Affairs pages before you lodge.

Australia immigration hub

FAQ

What English test can you use after graduation?

Accepted tests and scores sit in the 485 visa English requirements table. PTE is one option if it's listed at the time you lodge. Test reports expire.

Sit the test early enough that the report is still valid on the application date.

Do you need new medical insurance after your student policy ends?

Yes, in most cases you arrange new cover. health insurance 485 visa products are often sold as OVHC, not student OSHC.

Match the policy dates to the stay you request. Keep the certificate with your upload pack.

What PTE score should you target?

There's no single forever number. pte requirements for 485 visa sit in the current Home Affairs instrument. Compare your report to that table.

If one skill is below the published floor, retest before you pay the charge.

What health cover document do officers usually want?

Upload a policy certificate that shows your name, period, and product. 485 visa health cover should be adequate for the visa period you seek.

A quote without purchase may be weak if the form asks for cover already in force.

How do you keep the file complete?

Use one folder for identity, study, English, police, and insurance. Label PDFs clearly. Recheck names against the passport.

If the department asks for more, answer inside the request window with the document named.

Who decides the visa?

The Department of Home Affairs decides. This page is educational. It isn't a prediction of grant, stay length, or work conditions.

Worked Example

Example: Mei Chen completed a two-year CRICOS master in Melbourne on a student visa. Graduation was in March. Her passport had 14 months left.

She wanted work rights while she planned a later skilled file.

Mei listed 485 graduate visa documents: passport, completion letter, transcript, CoE history, PTE report, AFP check, and an OSHC quote for the stay she would request.

She compared PTE scores to the published table the same week. For instance, her speaking score sat one band below the then-current threshold.

She rebooted PTE rather than lodge with a short score.

Mei didn't invent a 485 graduate visa processing time. She only tracked her own HAP ID and ImmiAccount messages.

She paid the visa application charge from a card in her name. She uploaded colour scans under 5 MB.

She included her partner only after she had a marriage certificate and joint lease pages.

The department later asked for a clearer completion letter. Mei obtained a registrar letter that named the course, CRICOS code, and conferral date.

She replied inside the request window.

The officer granted a Temporary Graduate visa with the stay shown on the grant notice. That notice, not a forum post, set Mei’s work and travel conditions.

What you should copy: Early English booking, matching names, and a registrar letter that states CRICOS details.

What you should not copy: Mei’s stay length, her score, or her timeline. Your facts differ.

If your course was shorter, or partly offshore, your study test may fail even if you graduated. Check dates against the Australian study requirement before you pay.

Keep a folder for police certificates from every country of long residence. Mei almost missed a six-month stay abroad.

Next, price the charge, exams, and health insurance 485 visa cover so the lodgement doesn't stall.

This guide is general information, not legal advice for your specific situation. A licensed attorney or regulated adviser should review your documents before you rely on a strategy or deadline.