Post-Higher Education Work stream

• stay in Australia for between 2 to 3 years after you have finished your studies
• travel, work or study in Australia during your stay.

You must find your own employment while on this visa.

This is a temporary visa. The length of your stay in Australia will depend on the level of your Australian study qualification.

• Bachelor degree (including honours) – 2 years
• Masters (coursework and extended) – 2 years
• Masters (research) – 3 years
• Doctoral degree – 3 years.

The default Graduate Diploma stay period is 2 years, but may be longer where previous study would have attracted a longer stay period.

The length of stay for Indian nationals, as agreed in the Australia India – Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (AI-ECTA), is as follows:

• Bachelor degree (including honours) – 2 years
• Bachelor degree (with first class honours in STEM, including ICT) – 3 years
• Masters (coursework, extended and research) – 3 years
• Doctoral degrees (PhD) – 4 years.

Hong Kong and British National Overseas passport holders may stay up to 5 years.

The visa starts on the date we grant your visa.

You can travel in and out of Australia while your visa is valid.

We cannot extend this visa.

You may be eligible to apply for a Second Post-Higher Education Work stream visa. For further information, see Eligibility.

You may be eligible for other skilled work visas. Use our visa finder to find out options for work.

Current and future Temporary Graduate visa holders from Hong Kong may have a pathway to permanent residency after 5 years.

You can include members of your family unit in your application when you apply, if they are in Australia. You can add your children to the application until we decide on your application. You cannot add any other member of the family unit to your application during that period.

If you want to add your family member to your visa after we have granted it, they can apply as a subsequent entrant. They can apply from in or outside Australia. Family members who apply for this visa must meet our health and character requirements.

For more details, see when you have this visa.

The visa costs AUD5,750.00 for the main applicant (concessions apply in limited circumstances).

There is also a charge for each family member who applies for the visa with you.

Subsequent entrants, including children born offshore, must pay the full Visa Application Charge.

You might also have to pay other costs for:

• health checks
• police certificates
• biometrics

To work out what your visa will cost use the Visa Pricing Estimator. The estimator does not take into account the other costs.

The Temporary Graduate visa is exempt from the Subsequent Temporary Application Charge.

Cost concession

A lower visa cost applies to eligible Pacific Island and Timor-Leste citizens who lodge a valid Temporary Graduate visa application.

We will charge eligible applicants the lower visa application cost during the application process in ImmiAccount. We will recognise eligible applicants by the valid passport from the specified countries used in the application when they apply.

Family members are also eligible for the lower visa cost. We base this on the passport of the primary applicant (or visa holder who satisfies the primary visa criteria).

Pacific Island and Timor-Leste citizens primary applicants must hold a valid passport issued by one of the following countries:

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

You can be in Australia (but not in immigration clearance) when you apply for this visa.

Subsequent entrants can be in or outside Australia when they apply.

All applicants can be in or outside Australia at the time of decision.

For an indication of processing times for your visa, use the visa processing time guide tool. This will show the processing times for recently decided applications. It is a guide only and not specific to your application.

Your application can take longer to process if:

• you do not fill it in correctly
• we need more information from you
• it takes us time to verify your information.

We cannot process your application if you do not pay the correct Visa Application Charge. We will notify you if this is the case and if necessary return your application.

You and your family must meet all visa conditions and follow Australian laws.

Learn more about conditions for this visa.

You can travel outside Australia and return as many times as you want while your visa is valid.

The time you spend outside Australia does not extend your visa.

We will digitally link your visa to your passport. You will not get a label in your passport.

You must be 35 years of age or under when you apply.

You can be under 50 years of age when you apply if you:

• are using a Masters (research) or Doctoral Degree (PhD) to meet the Temporary Graduate visa study requirement, or
• hold a Hong Kong or British National Overseas passport.

You must be in Australia (but not in immigration clearance) when you apply for this visa.

Subsequent entrants can be in or outside Australia when they apply.

We will process your visa application if:

• you are in Australia and hold an eligible Student visa (not one supported by the Minister for Defence or the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade)
• you held a Student visa within the past 6 months and now hold a Bridging Visa A or Bridging Visa B granted based on a valid visa application
• you held a Student visa within the past 6 months and now hold a substantive visa.

To be eligible for this visa you must have completed your course within 6 months of applying.

If you previously held a subclass 485 or 476 visa as a primary applicant, you cannot be granted this visa as a primary applicant again. If you held one of these visas as a secondary applicant, you may be eligible to apply as a primary applicant.

You must have been awarded an eligible degree, regardless of your field of study, in the 6 months immediately before the day you apply for your visa. You must also meet the Temporary Graduate visa study requirement.

You must have been awarded an eligible degree, regardless of your field of study, in the 6 months immediately before the day you apply for your visa and meet the Temporary Graduate visa study requirement.

On 25 November 2023, online study requirements returned to their pre-COVID state. Online study undertaken during the COVID concession period (1 February 2020 to 25 November 2023) will continue to count towards the Temporary Graduate visa study requirement.

For more information about eligible study see the Temporary Graduate visa study requirement.

The Department does not undertake pre-lodgement assessments of the Temporary Graduate visa study requirement or any other visa criteria. Once you make a valid application, a delegate will make an assessment based on the information available to them.

Your course must have been with an Australian education provider who is registered on CRICOS registered and offers degree-level programs.

To prove your English level meets the requirements, show us evidence that you are a citizen of and hold a valid passport from one of the following countries:

• The United Kingdom
• The United States of America
• Canada
• New Zealand
• The Republic of Ireland.

In the 12 months immediately before the day you apply for your visa, you must have scored one of the specified results below.

For tests taken on or after 7 August 2025, note the following changes:

• OET does not currently provide overall test results on test score reports.Contact OET to obtain your overall score and include the required information in your application.
• The department accepts IELTS test results that include One Skill Retake (OSR) for a Temporary Graduate visa. Any OSR must be completed prior to lodging your application.
• The department accepts MET test results that include Single Section Retake (SSR) for a Temporary Graduate visa. Any SSR must be completed prior to lodging your application.

For further information, see English Language visa requirements.

Acceptable minimum scores – Test taken on or after 7 August 2025

Acceptable minimum scores – Test taken on or before 6 August 2025

Holders of British National (BNO) or Hong Kong passports must have scored one of the following in the 12 months immediately before the day they apply for their visa:

Acceptable minimum scores – Test taken on or after 7 August 2025 – Holders of British National (BNO) or Hong Kong passports

Acceptable minimum scores – Test taken on or before 6 August 2025 - Holders of British National (BNO) or Hong Kong passports

You and your family members must have and maintain adequate health insurance for the duration of your stay in Australia. See what we consider adequate health insurance.

You and any family members who apply for the visa with you must meet our health requirement.

You and any family members aged 16 years and over who apply for the visa must meet our character requirement.

If you are 18 years of age or older, you must:

• have read, or had explained to you, the Life in Australia booklet and
• sign an Australian Values Statement that confirms you will respect the Australian way of life and obey Australian laws.

If you or any family members owe the Australian Government money, you or they must have paid it back or arranged to pay it back.

We will consider your immigration history when we make a decision on your application, which means you might not be eligible for this visa if you have had a visa cancelled or refused.

In some circumstances you may still apply for a permanent visa if you have had a visa cancelled or an application refused see Limitations on applications in Australia.

If applying for a visa from outside Australia see Can you go to Australia.

If you need immigration assistance, see Who can help with your visa application.

Now that you have your Temporary Graduate (subclass 485) Post-Higher Education Work visa, you may want to consider withdrawing any other undecided visa applications you have lodged with us. Failure to withdraw any undecided applications may result in you being granted a different visa.

To withdraw any other visa application, you must tell us in writing. More information is available on our website at You want to withdraw an application.

Before you leave

Check your travel documents

You must have:

• a valid visa to enter Australia
• a valid passport or other travel document.

At the border

Completing an Incoming Passenger Card

All people arriving Australia must complete the Incoming Passenger Card. You will be given this card onboard.

Leaving the airport faster

We have an automated process that uses facial recognition technology and your ePassport. You might be able to leave the airport faster if you use SmartGate.

What you can do when you have this visa

• live, study and work in Australia temporarily

You must find your own employment while on this visa.

What you must do on this visa

You and your family members must obey all Australian laws.

See your conditions in VEVO or your visa grant letter.

Tell us if things change

Things you need to let us know about when you have this visa include:

• changes to your phone number, email, address or passport
• changes to your relationship status
• the birth of a child.

See how to let us know if there is a change in your situation.

See how long you can stay

The visa starts on the date we grant the visa.

To see when you must leave, use VEVO.

Staying longer

You may be eligible to apply for a Second Post-Higher Education visa. To do this you must live, work and/or study in a regional area while holding your first Post-Higher Education Work or Post-Study work visa. That visa must have been granted on the basis of a degree or higher from an Australian institution located in a regional area.

You might be eligible for other skilled work visas. Use our visa finder to find out options for work.

Travelling on your visa

This visa is granted with multiple entries. You can travel outside Australia and return as many times as you want while your visa is valid.

Time spent outside Australia does not extend your visa.

See your conditions.

Working

To see your conditions for work, use VEVO.

You are protected by Australian workplace law. See your workplace rights and entitlements.

Bringing family

Members of the family unit can also apply to join you in Australia as a subsequent entrant after we grant your visa. They can be in or outside Australia when they apply (but must not be in immigration clearance).

Family members applying for this visa (including Replacement stream) as subsequent entrants must apply online in ImmiAccount. For more information see step by step.

Visa holders must arrive in Australia by their Initial Entry Date.

Newborn children

Find out what to do if your child is born after you apply or when you hold your visa.

Before you leave

Check your travel documents

You must have a valid passport or other travel document to leave Australia.

At the border

Leaving the airport faster

We have an automated process that uses facial recognition technology and your ePassport. You might be able to leave the airport faster if you use SmartGate.

After you leave

Getting your superannuation

You are likely to have some money in a superannuation fund if you worked in Australia and you are paid AUD450 or more before tax in a month.

• aged 18 years or older
• paid AUD450 or more before tax in a month.

See how to access your super.

Proving you have been to Australia

To get proof of your travel in and out of Australia request your international movement records.