Australia 485 Temporary Graduate Visa: 2026 Changes for Sri Lankan Graduates

If you are a Sri Lankan student who has completed a degree at an Australian institution, the Subclass 485 Temporary Graduate Visa is your bridge to post-study work in Australia — and your most likely stepping stone toward permanent residency. But the 485 landscape changed significantly on 1 March 2026. The application fee more than doubled to AUD 4,600, and the English language requirement was raised to IELTS 6.5 overall. Add the strict 6-month post-course application deadline and the age cap of 35, and this is not a visa you can plan for casually. This guide covers every key rule and cost Sri Lankan graduates need to know.

What the 485 Visa Is (and the Two Streams)

The Subclass 485 Temporary Graduate Visa is Australia's post-study work visa for international students who have recently graduated from an eligible Australian institution. It is issued by the Department of Home Affairs and allows holders to live, work, and study in Australia after completing their qualifications. Unlike a student visa, the 485 places almost no restrictions on the type of work you can do — you can work full-time in any occupation while you build experience and move toward a skilled migration pathway.

There are two streams under the 485. The Post-Higher Education Work stream is the one most degree graduates will use — it is for applicants who have completed a bachelor's degree, graduate diploma, masters, or PhD at an Australian institution. The Post-Vocational Education Work stream is for graduates of eligible vocational qualifications (generally at diploma level or above). The stream you apply under affects your eligibility criteria and the duration of the visa you receive, so confirm which applies to your qualification before you lodge.

A key baseline rule: you must be physically in Australia at the time you lodge your 485 application. You must also have held a student visa at some point in the 6 months before you apply, and you must have held an eligible visa throughout your study. If you travelled home to Sri Lanka after your course ended and your visa expired, you will generally not be able to apply for the 485 from outside Australia — the in-country requirement is firm.

The 1 March 2026 Fee Shock: AUD 4,600

The most jarring change that took effect on 1 March 2026 is the application fee. The Subclass 485 fee doubled from AUD 2,300 to AUD 4,600. This is a very large single cost and it catches many Sri Lankan families off guard, particularly those who budgeted for the 485 based on fee information from even a few months earlier.

At current approximate exchange rates, AUD 4,600 is roughly LKR 800,000 to LKR 900,000, though this figure fluctuates with the Sri Lankan rupee. You should check the exact LKR equivalent at the time you are ready to pay, and hold a buffer for adverse rate movement — the AUD tends to be stable against the USD but the LKR can shift. Your bank in Sri Lanka will charge a conversion fee on top of the spot rate, so budget accordingly.

The fee is charged per primary applicant. If you include dependants on your 485 application — a spouse or children — additional charges apply for each person. We cover dependant costs in a later section. The fee is non-refundable if the application is refused, which makes it all the more important to ensure your eligibility, documents, and English scores are in order before you lodge.

English Language Requirement Raised to IELTS 6.5

The second major change that took effect on 1 March 2026 is the English language requirement. Where previously an IELTS Overall band score of 6.0 was sufficient, the 485 now requires an IELTS Overall score of at least 6.5, with no individual band (Listening, Reading, Writing, Speaking) falling below 5.5.

For many Sri Lankan graduates, this change is a genuine hurdle. An overall 6.5 with no component below 5.5 is a meaningful threshold — it is the same level typically required for nursing registration and many skilled migration points-tested visas. If you sat IELTS before the March 2026 change with a score of 6.0, that score will not satisfy the new requirement for 485 applications lodged from 1 March 2026 onwards. You will need to resit and score 6.5 overall.

IELTS results are generally valid for two years from the test date. If you are currently studying in Australia, do not leave your English test until after your course ends — if you need to resit, you may struggle to fit this into the 6-month post-course application window. Book your IELTS test early, especially if your previous score was at or near 6.0. The British Council and IDP both offer IELTS testing in Sri Lanka (Colombo) and in major Australian cities.

Age Limit and the 6-Month Application Window

The Subclass 485 has an age limit: you must be 35 years of age or younger at the time you lodge your application. There are some narrow exemptions — for instance, certain graduates from regional Australian institutions may be eligible for an exemption — but for the vast majority of Sri Lankan applicants, 35 is the hard cutoff. If you are 36 or older when you apply, you will not be eligible regardless of your qualification or English score.

Even more critical is the 6-month application deadline. You must apply for the Subclass 485 within 6 months of the date your course officially ends — this is typically the date your institution notifies you of your successful completion, not your graduation ceremony date. This deadline has no flexibility. There is no provision to apply late, no ministerial discretion, and no exception for circumstances such as illness, travel, or administrative delays. Miss the 6-month window and you are permanently ineligible for a 485 for that qualification.

Key 2026 Changes at a Glance

Financial Planning for Your 485 Application

One important distinction between the 485 and a student visa: there is no formal 'show money' or maintenance fund requirement for the 485 itself. When you applied for your Australian student visa from Sri Lanka, you had to demonstrate you could meet your tuition fees and living costs — typically evidence held in your Sri Lankan bank accounts at Bank of Ceylon, Commercial Bank, Sampath, Hatton National Bank, or similar institutions. The 485 does not repeat this exercise. Because you have been living and studying in Australia, Home Affairs does not apply a financial maintenance test to the application.

What you do need to budget for carefully is the application fee itself — AUD 4,600 — which is the single largest financial obligation for the 485. This needs to be available in an account you can use for an Australian online payment. Many Sri Lankan applicants on student visas maintain an Australian bank account for day-to-day expenses; confirm this account has sufficient funds before you log into ImmiAccount to lodge. If you are relying on a transfer from Sri Lanka to cover this, initiate the transfer well in advance — international bank transfers can take several business days and exchange-rate timing matters.

Beyond the fee, think about your financial runway during the 485 period itself. The 485 can last anywhere from 2 to 5 years depending on your qualification and stream. You will be working in Australia — so in practical terms, the ongoing financial pressure is about sustaining yourself while you build up work experience and position yourself for the next step. Living costs in Australian cities are high; if you have family financial support from Sri Lanka, understanding the exchange control rules for sending money from Sri Lanka to Australia is important. Our guide on Sri Lanka exchange control rules and sending money abroad covers the key CBSL rules for this.

Dependants on the 485 Cost Extra

If your spouse or children will join you in Australia on your 485 application, you will pay additional visa fees for each dependant at the time of application. The dependant fee for each secondary applicant is separate from the AUD 4,600 primary fee. Check the current dependant fee on the Department of Home Affairs' visa pricing schedule at immi.homeaffairs.gov.au — these figures can change, and this guide cannot guarantee they reflect the amount at your time of application.

Bringing dependants also means higher ongoing living costs in Australia. Factor in accommodation, health insurance (Overseas Student Health Cover or an equivalent arrangement), schooling for children, and daily expenses for an additional adult. For Sri Lankan families where the spouse may not be eligible to work the same hours as the primary 485 holder, this financial planning is critical. The 485 typically allows secondary applicants to work — but confirm the specific work conditions that apply to your visa grant letter.

Bridge to PR: Planning Your Finances Beyond 485

For most Sri Lankan graduates, the 485 is not the end goal — it is the step before permanent residency. Australia's skilled migration system, including the Skills in Demand visa and state and territory nomination pathways, typically requires you to work in Australia for a period, accumulate points under the General Skilled Migration points test, and lodge an Expression of Interest through SkillSelect. Your time on the 485 is when you build the Australian work experience and the points score that make a PR application viable.

The financial dimension of a PR application is different from the 485. Skilled migration PR applications through points-tested routes generally do not have a bank balance requirement in the same way that student or visitor visas do — but the costs of the application, skills assessment, and professional membership fees can be substantial. State nomination programs can also impose their own financial thresholds or residency requirements. Plan for these costs during your 485 years rather than leaving them as a last-minute scramble.

One practical step during your 485 period is to maintain clear and well-documented banking records in Australia. If you do eventually apply for a family or partner visa, or if a future employer-sponsored visa requires financial evidence, having clean, consistent bank statements from your Australian account will matter. Avoid large unexplained cash movements, keep your superannuation records in order, and hold onto tax returns from your Australian work — the Australian Tax Office record of your income is often the cleanest proof of funds for any future visa you apply for.

How ShowMoneyLK Helps

ShowMoneyLK specialises in financial documentation for visa applications from Sri Lanka — and while the 485 itself has no show-money requirement, our role comes in at several points in the journey. If you are currently applying for an Australian student visa and need to demonstrate funds from Sri Lankan banks before you begin your studies, we help you structure and document those funds correctly the first time. If your family in Sri Lanka is financially sponsoring your living costs while you are on the 485, we can help them obtain properly formatted source-of-funds letters and bank documentation from institutions such as Bank of Ceylon, Commercial Bank, Sampath, Hatton National Bank, People's Bank, NSB, or Seylan Bank.

We also assist graduates who plan to bring dependants and need financial documentation showing that dependant costs can be covered, or those who are applying for state nomination under programs that require financial evidence of settlement funds. When you eventually transition from the 485 toward a skilled migration PR application that requires proof of funds — such as a Canada or New Zealand pathway if Australia does not work out — we have helped Sri Lankan clients with those routes too. The goal is always the same: honest, compliant, bank-verifiable financial documentation that survives immigration scrutiny.