Major changes to Australia’s immigration program continue with amendments primarily to the subclass 485 – Temporary Graduate visa that commenced on 14 December 2024. These amendments relate to the Post-Higher Education Work stream.

The amending instrument firstly clarifies that completing a qualification towards a 485 visa does not require the award certificate to have been received or “formally conferred” but that all academic requirements have been met. This resolves confusion some may have as ceremonies to confer an award may occur well after 6 months from when the course was completed.

The definition of degree is also added, specifying that it is a bachelor degree, a masters degree, a doctoral degree or a graduate diploma under the Australian Qualifications Framework. Definitions of each “degree” are provided. What is important, however, is the definition of a graduate diploma, which requires that it is a related course of study to the course leading to the award of the preceding degree for the graduate diploma, and is commenced within the same, or the next, academic year as the academic year in which the preceding degree for the graduate diploma was completed.

What this implies is that any graduate diploma claimed to contribute to meeting the study requirements for a 485 visa under the Higher Education Work stream cannot be unrelated to any preceding degree and must have been started after any preceding degree. As graduate diplomas will generally not be at least 92 academic weeks, which is still a requirement for this visa, graduate diplomas will only be accepted as an eligible qualification when undertaken immediately following a related bachelor’s or master’s degree or a PhD that was obtained in Australia.

This prevents someone who did not apply for a 485 visa after completing their preceding qualification to then return to Australia many months or years after, study a graduate diploma, and use this and their previous degree as qualifications to apply for a 485 visa.

Furthermore, graduate certificates can no longer be claimed as a qualification for a 485 visa. Another legislative instrument removes them from the list of specified degrees that can be claimed. 

And while the definition of the Australian study requirement is removed for 485 visas it is effectively retained but with a catch. Courses to qualify must still be completed with an Australian educational institution that:

• are registered courses; and

• were completed in a total of at least 16 calendar months; and

• were completed as a result of a total of at least 2 academic years study; and

• which all instruction was conducted in English; and

• the applicant undertook while in Australia as the holder of a visa authorising the applicant to study.

The difference is that under the Post-Higher Education Work stream, only degrees as defined can qualify. Similarly, under the Post-Vocational Education Work stream only associate degrees, diplomas or trade qualifications can be used.

The Australian study requirement, now relegated to scoring points for General Skilled Migration visas, does not distinguish between qualifications so any one or more degree, diploma, or trade qualification can contribute towards the Australia study requirement provided they meet the above dot points.