Temporary graduate visa Australia

Consider yourself lucky if you are an international student who has just graduated from a recognized educational institution here in Australia. Your choice of this country as the go-to hub when it comes to quality education couldn’t have been better.

Not only have you acquired a world-class schooling from an esteemed university here at lower costs compared to other places in the world, the Commonwealth Government also has prepared a precious gift for you. This gift is in the form of a visa. What we are referring to is the Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485).

Australia may be one of only a few countries in the whole world that provides a world-class educational system to its foreign students while offering opportunities for employment for those who have finished their studies.

While Temporary Graduate visa Australia serves as a way of the government to entice talented graduates to consider taking on jobs here where there is a shortage of local talent, it also proves to be a coveted visa on the part of graduate students as it permits you to live, work, travel or further your studies here after you have completed your chosen course. In other words, this visa is mutually beneficial for you and for the Australian government.

Speaking of travel, when you apply for subclass 485 here, you would be given a bridging visa so that you can continue to stay in the country legally while your application is being processed. If in case the bridging visa that’s granted to you is Bridging Visa A, you need to obtain a Bridging visa B if you intend to travel outside of the country. The immigration department cannot allow you to go out of the country with a Bridging visa A on hand. You need to have Bridging visa B to be able to do that.

Requirements for Temporary Graduate visa

If you intend to obtain visa subclass 485, you need to comply with the following requirements:

You must not be older than 50 years old.
You possess a qualification in a course listed in CRICOS.
You have passed the English language requirement.
In the last six months, you complied with the Australian study requirement.
You comply with health and character requirements.
You maintain a health insurance from an Australian provider.
You must be a holder of an eligible visa.
You must comply with the requirements of the stream you are applying for.

The last two items on the list need further clarifications.

Eligible visa

Before things get too confusing, let’s discuss eligible visa first in relation to subclass 485. What do we mean when we say you need to have an eligible visa before you could apply for a Temporary Graduate visa Australia?

This requirement simply means that you are qualified to apply for any stream of subclass 485 if you are in any of the following situations:

You are a holder of a student visa, but you are not any of the following:
- A dependent of the main applicant of this type of visa
- The main applicant who underwent a course under a scholarship or training program under the office of the Foreign Minister or the Defence Minister which requires you to leave the country after you have finished the course.
You are in a possession of a valid student at any given time during the past six months and you now hold a substantive visa or a bridging visa (it doesn’t matter if it’s Bridging visa A or Bridging visa B).
You were a holder of a valid student visa that was canceled but was reinstated within the past 28 days after it went through the Migration Review Tribunal.
You must not have had any cases of visa being refused or canceled since you last entered the country unless you have a substantive visa.

Two streams of Temporary Graduate visa Australia

In reference to the last item of the visa requirements mentioned earlier, subclass 485 has two streams, namely Graduate Work stream and Post-Study Work stream. Each of these streams has specific requirements to comply with depending on which stream you choose to apply for.

The former is intended for you if you have recently graduated from an Australian school and you possess qualifications and skills that are needed in the medium to long-term in the labor market. Your skills and qualifications should match an occupation that’s included in the strategic skills list. This visa is valid for 18 months since the time of granting.

On the other hand, you can avail of the Post-Study Work stream if you have recently graduated from an Australian educational institution where you earned a higher educational degree whatever your field of study is.

This visa is valid anywhere from two to four years. The validity of the visa depends on the qualification that you use when you apply for this visa. For instance, a bachelor degree, masters by coursework degree or a master’s degree (extended) can earn for you two years of visa validity. A master’s by research degree can entitle you to a three-year visa while a doctoral degree can earn for you four years of stay in the country.

Graduate Work stream requirements

Should you decide to apply for Graduate Work stream visa, you need to meet the following requirements:

You should choose an occupation that’s included in the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL).
Your application should include proof that you have undergone a skills assessment by a relevant assessing authority for your nominated skilled occupation.
A relevant assessing authority must find your skills and qualifications suitable for your nominated skilled occupation.
Again, you must have hurdled the Australian study requirement within the past six months.
Your skills and qualifications, including the degree, diploma or trade qualification that you use to pass the Australian study requirement must be closely tied to the skilled occupation that you nominated. For instance, you cannot undertake engineering occupations here with a degree in commerce.

This rule is worth noting: You can choose only one occupation and you cannot change that occupation after you have lodged your visa application.

Helpful notes on skills assessment

The responsibility of arranging for the skills assessment falls on you. You need to find a relevant assessing authority and touch base with them before you lodge your application for this visa. Finding a relevant assessing agency is important because each assessing body has its own evaluation procedures, schedules, and charges. Additionally, you need to choose the assessing authority that’s related to your qualifications so that you can obtain appropriate skills assessment.

For instance, if your nominated occupation is nursing, it is but proper that you obtain your skills assessment from the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council or ANMAC. Or if you are a physiotherapist or an early childhood education teacher, you contact an assessing authority relevant to your qualifications.

Post-Study Work stream requirements

If, however, you happen to have acquired a higher education degree from a recognized institution here and you apply for Post-Study Work stream, here are the requirements that you need to comply:

Your first Australian student visa should not have been applied for and granted on or before Nov. 5, 2011.
You are a holder of an eligible qualification that’s conferred on you by an Australian university or, if it is not a university, by an education provider that is registered with the Commonwealth Register of Courses and Institutions for Overseas Students (CRICOS) and that provider has the authority to offer degree courses and above.
You meet the Australian study requirement within the past six months.

As far as the application for a Post-Study Work stream visa is concerned, only courses that lead to the awarding of a valid degree will be considered. An eligible degree includes any of the following:

Bachelor degree
Bachelor (honors) degree
Masters by coursework degree
Masters (extended) degree
Masters by research degree
Doctoral degree

Studies that only confer a diploma level or trade qualification will not be honored.

It is also important to note that your study must be undertaken in a recognized institution of learning. Otherwise, your application will be refused.

Reminders on health insurance requirements

Just like the skills assessment, you are also responsible for all expenses related to your health while you are in the country. Unless your country has a mutual health care agreement with Australia, you will not be covered by Medicare — this is Australia’s national health scheme.

The rule here is this: You must have sufficient health insurance coverage if you are not covered by Medicare. Failure to comply with this requirement could be a cause for visa application refusal or cancellation of an existing visa.

Where to apply?

You and anyone included in your application must be in the country when you apply for this visa and when your visa is decided.

However, your family members who apply for this visa after your own application has been granted do not need to be in Australia when they apply.

Please take note, though, that as a primary applicant, you can only avail of this visa once. In addition to that, it is your responsibility to find your job. The Australian government does not arrange your employment. But you don’t need to worry about it as several organizations provide information to job hunters like you. In fact, the Commonwealth government has a dedicated website for this purpose.

Do you need help? Get it from Nowak Migration

We bet you still have a lot of questions and confusions lingering in your mind right now. We fully understand that. An article such as this cannot answer such queries in one sitting, more so if we are talking about laws, rules, and regulations. At best, it can give you an overview of the subject.

But that should be the least of your worries. After all, our company, Nowak Migration, is always here to extend assistance to you when you need it, and answer your every question the best way we can. All you have to do is reach out to us.

Below are the various means of communication through which you can air your questions, comments, suggestions and what have you about Australian migration, in general, and about Temporary Graduate visa Australia, in particular:

Hotline: (07) 3668 0658
Email: info@nowakmigration.com.au
Website: nowakmigration.com.au
Facebook Page

Choose from among these channels of communication which one is most convenient to you for bringing up your concerns with us. Our dedicated staff would only be too happy to accommodate your every concern. Our goal has always been to make your visa application successful so that you will have the time of your life here in the country of opportunities.