{"id":514735,"date":"2026-03-02T23:00:13","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T23:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/514735\/"},"modified":"2026-03-02T23:00:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T23:00:13","slug":"australia-doubles-temporary-graduate-subclass-485-visa-fee-to-au4600","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/514735\/","title":{"rendered":"Australia doubles Temporary Graduate (subclass 485) visa fee to AU$4,600"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In the largest single-day price rise the program has ever seen, the Department of Home Affairs has lifted the base application charge for the Temporary Graduate visa from AU$2,300 to AU$4,600, effective 1 March 2026. The increase was introduced by legislative instrument under the Migration (Fees) Regulation 2024 and applies to every new 485 application lodged on or after that date. (firstmigrationservice.com<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Home Affairs says the 100 per cent jump is designed to \u201crestore integrity\u201d to the post-study work route. Officials believe the 485 visa has become a default stop-gap for graduates with no clear long-term plan. Extra revenue will bankroll the new Genuine Student (GS) assessment, an expanded compliance division and real-time data-matching with the Australian Taxation Office. (firstmigrationservice.com<\/a>)<\/p>\n

The change lands on top of a February 2026 ban on \u201cvisa-hopping\u201d between certain temporary subclasses and a 31 March 2026 prohibition on education-agent commissions for on-shore course transfers. Together, the measures form part of the government\u2019s broader target to trim net overseas migration from 538,000 last year to roughly 306,000 in 2025-26. (firstmigrationservice.com<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\"Australia<\/p>\n

Amid these shifting rules, visa-processing services such as VisaHQ can streamline the paperwork, track fee updates in real time and flag alternative visa categories that might suit individual circumstances. Their Australia-focused portal (https:\/\/www.visahq.com\/australia\/<\/a>) provides step-by-step guidance and live support, helping graduates and employers stay ahead of future policy tweaks.<\/p>\n

For employers, the steeper fee could shrink the pipeline of fresh graduate talent. Universities warn it dents Australia\u2019s competitiveness against Canada and the UK, where comparable post-study permits cost under AU$1,000. Migration agents report a surge of last-minute lodgements on 29 February to lock in the old fee. Graduates now face total up-front costs of AU$6,000-7,700 once police checks, health exams and insurance are factored in. (firstmigrationservice.com<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Practical advice from registered agents is to budget early, front-load English tests and medicals to avoid re-lodgement, and\u2014where possible\u2014explore employer-sponsored 482 visas or direct-to-PR skilled pathways that carry lower government charges. Applicants from Pacific Island nations and Timor-Leste remain eligible for a reduced fee under existing concessions.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In the largest single-day price rise the program has ever seen, the Department of Home Affairs has lifted…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":396172,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,44],"class_list":["post-514735","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/514735","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=514735"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/514735\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/396172"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=514735"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=514735"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=514735"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}