Work Visas

Temporary Graduate Visa – Subclass 485

The Temporary Graduate visa allows eligible international students who have recently completed Australian studies to live, work and study temporarily in Australia. Eligible family members may also be included.

Applicants must select the correct stream when applying. It is not possible to change streams after an application has been lodged.

General Eligibility

Applicants must generally:

• Be aged 35 years or under when applying.
• Hold an eligible visa and generally have held a Student visa during the preceding six months.
• Have recently completed an eligible qualification through a CRICOS-registered Australian course.
• Meet the Australian study requirement and the requirements of the selected stream.
• Provide the required English-language, health-insurance, health, character and Australian Federal Police check evidence.
• Attach all mandatory documents when lodging the application.

Applicants may be under 50 when applying if they used a Masters degree by research or Doctoral degree to meet the qualification requirements, or hold a Hong Kong or British National Overseas passport.

English-Language Requirement

Applicants must provide evidence from an approved English-language test taken within the applicable validity period.

For IELTS, the current general requirement is an overall score of at least 6.5, with at least 5.5 in each component, or an accepted equivalent result.

Different requirements apply to eligible Hong Kong and British National Overseas passport holders, who generally require IELTS 6.0 overall with at least 5.0 in each component, or an accepted equivalent.

English-test providers, equivalent scores, exemptions and validity requirements can change. Applicants should confirm the requirements applying on the date of application.

Second Post-Higher Education Work Stream

This stream may provide an additional temporary stay for eligible graduates who studied and lived in a designated regional area.

Applicants must generally:

• Hold an eligible first Temporary Graduate visa in the Post-Higher Education Work, former Post-Study Work or former Replacement stream.
• Have obtained the relevant degree from a CRICOS-registered education provider located in an eligible designated regional area.
• Have lived only in an eligible designated regional area for at least two years immediately before applying.
• Be in Australia when applying.
• Continue to satisfy the applicable age, health-insurance and other visa requirements.

The additional stay is generally one or two years, depending on the regional location of the educational institution and the area in which the applicant lived.

Holding a Temporary Graduate visa does not automatically provide eligibility for another visa. The specific regional study, residence and visa-history requirements must be satisfied.

Mobility Arrangement for Talented Early-professionals Scheme – Subclass 403 MATES Stream

MATES is a temporary mobility pathway for eligible Indian graduates and early-career professionals. It allows successful applicants to live and work in Australia for up to two years.

Eligible fields include renewable energy, mining, engineering, information and communications technology, artificial intelligence, financial technology and agricultural technology.

MATES Ballot System

MATES operates through a mandatory pre-application ballot.

• Eligible Indian nationals must first register in the MATES ballot.
• The Australian Government allocates up to 3,000 places for primary applicants each program year.
• Registrants are selected randomly to provide fair access to the available places.
• Ballot registration does not constitute a visa application and does not guarantee selection.
• Only people selected in the ballot and issued a Notification of Selection may apply for the visa.
• Selected applicants must lodge their visa application within the period stated in the Notification of Selection.
• Eligible family members may accompany the primary applicant and are not counted toward the annual allocation of 3,000 primary-applicant places.

Ballot opening dates, closing dates and selection periods are determined for each program year. Applicants should check the current ballot status before attempting to register.

Key MATES Requirements

Applicants must generally:

• Hold a valid Indian passport.
• Be aged between 18 and 30, inclusive, at the beginning of the ballot-registration period.
• Not have previously participated in MATES.
• Have graduated recently from an eligible institution appearing in the relevant Top 100 National Institutional Ranking Framework list.
• Hold a Bachelor degree or higher qualification relevant to an eligible field.
• Meet the prescribed English-language requirement.
• Demonstrate adequate financial capacity or provide acceptable evidence of employment arrangements.
• Maintain adequate health insurance.
• Meet the applicable health, character and genuine temporary-stay requirements.
• Be outside Australia when applying for and when the visa is decided.

Note:

SPONSORED WORK VISAS are explained separately on our SPONSORED VISA page.