The Department have updated their website to outline the changes to the Temporary Graduate (sc 485) visa program as announced as part of the Migration Strategy. The changes to the Sc 485 should take effect from 1 July 2024, subject to the passage of legislative amendments. The changes are the following:

1. Graduate Work Stream

Renamed to the Post-Vocational Education Work Stream

The maximum eligible age will be reduced to 35 years of age or under. Hong Kong and British National Overseas passport holders will continue to be eligible provided they are under 50 years of age.

Applicants must hold an associate degree, diploma or trade qualification, closely related to their nominated occupation on the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL).Applicants with a degree level qualification or higher will no longer be eligible for this stream. 

The stay period will remain up to 18 months, with Hong Kong or British National Overseas passport holders eligible to stay for up to 5 years.

2. Post- Study Work Stream

Renamed to the Post-Higher Education stream.

The maximum eligible age for Post-Higher Education Work stream applicants will reduce to 35 years of age or under. Hong Kong and British National Overseas passport holders will continue to be eligible provided they are under 50 years of age

The ‘select degree’ 2 year extension will cease.

Stay periods will change to the following:

     Bachelor degree (including honours) – up to 2 years

     Masters (coursework and extended) – up to 2 years

     Masters (research) and doctoral degree (PhD) – up to 3 years.

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

Stay periods for Indian nationals, as agreed in the Australian Indian – Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (AI-ECTA), remain as:

Bachelor degree (including honours) – up to 2 years

Bachelor degree (with first class honours in STEM, including ICT) – up to 3 years

Masters (coursework, extended and research) – up to 3 years

Doctoral degrees (PhD) – up to 4 years.

3. Second Post- Study Work stream

Renamed to Second Post-Higher Education Work Stream

There are no other changes to this stream.

Replacement stream

This stream will cease and no longer be available.

The language requirements of the immigration website have not yet specified how many points equivalent to a 6.5 score in the IELTS exam can be obtained from other language proficiency tests. Below are the language requirements for reference:

Competent English: IELTS 6; PTE minimum score of 50 in each of the four sections; TOEFL (language scores issued before July 25, 2023) Listening 12, Reading 13, Writing 21, Speaking 18.

Proficient English: IELTS 7; PTE minimum score of 65 in each of the four sections; TOEFL (language scores issued before July 25, 2023) Listening 24, Reading 24, Writing 27, Speaking 23.