The Australian Department of Home Affairs (Home Affairs) have introduced changes to the Temporary Graduate (subclass 485) visa from 1 July 2024. The former Post-Study Work visa (PSWV) will now be known as Post-Higher Education Work visa.
Students who graduate with an Australian Bachelors, Masters or a Doctoral degree and meet the other eligibility criteria will have access to the Post-Higher Education Work visa. Please see the Department of Home Affairs website for eligibility requirements.
The duration of the Post-Higher Education Work visa graduates are able to apply for will depend on the degree they attained, as follows:
- Bachelor degree (including honours) - up to 2 years
- Masters degree (coursework and extended) - up to 2 years
- Masters degree (research) and Doctoral degree (PhD) - up to 3 years
Students may also be eligible to apply for a Second Post-Higher Education Work visa (former Second Post-Study Work visa) for a further one year duration, if they have lived, worked and/or studied in a regional area (South Australia) while holding their first Post-Higher Education Work visa (former Post-Study Work Visa), and their first visa was granted on the basis of a degree or higher from an Australian instituition located in a regional area. Please see the Department of Home Affairs website for eligibility requirements.
Eligibility
To be eligible to apply for the Post-Higher Education Work visa, the applicant must:
- successfully complete an Australian Bachelors, Masters or Doctoral degree
- have applied for and been granted their first student visa application on or after 5 November 2011
- hold an eligible visa
- have held a student visa in the last six months
- meet the Australian Study Requirement (ASR) in the six months immediately before making their Post-Higher Education Work visa application
- be in Australia
- be 35* years of age or under
- meet the English language requirement
*Masters degree (research) and Doctoral degree (PhD) graduates, Hong Kong and British National Overseas passport holders must be under 50 years of age.
Other requirements that will need to be met include health, character and security requirements.
Graduates who do not meet the requirement for the Post-Higher Education Work visa may be eligible for other visas. Plesae refer to the Department of Home Affairs website to explore their visa options.
The Australian Study Requirement
Applicants must meet the Australian Study Requirement (ASR) in the six months before submitting their Post-Higher Education Work visa application.
The ASR is defined as study in Australia in a registered course for a period of at least two academic years. The course must be conducted in English and must be completed in no less than 16 calendar months.
To meet the ASR, the applicant must:
- attain either a single qualification requiring at least two academic years study or multiple qualifications resulting in a total period of at least two academic years study
- undertake this study in no less than 16 calendar months.
The Department of Home Affairs temporarily changed the requirements for a Temporary Graduate (subclass 485) visa for those who have been impacted by Covid-19 travel restrictions:
Online study undertaken outside Australia (from 1 February 2020 to 24 November 2023) as a result of COVID concession period will count towards the ASR for existing student visa holders. Note - online study outside Australia is counted from the time of the student visa grant.
Please see the Department of Home Affairs website for the current information, which is subject to change.
