Kamal Ghorui
The Australian government sharply increased the application fee for the Temporary Graduate Visa (Subclass 485) from March 1, effective immediately. The non-refundable fee has risen to AU$4,600 (US$3,000), up from AU$2,300, marking more than a doubling over three years. The visa allows eligible foreign graduates to work in Australia from 18 months to three years after completing their studies and can serve as a pathway to permanent residency, reported ICEF Monitor.Fees for accompanying dependants have also risen sharply, with partners or dependants aged 18 and over now charged AU$2,300 (up from AU$1,115), and children under 18 facing a fee of AU$1,150 (up from AU$560). Even before this increase, the Temporary Graduate Visa was the most expensive post-study work visa in the world, and the new fee is more than 10 times, three times, and twice the cost of similar visas in Canada, New Zealand, and the UK, respectively.Rising costs for international studentsThe fee hike is part of a broader trend of increasing costs for international students in Australia. The student visa (Subclass 500) fee has risen twice in the past two years to AU$2,000 (roughly US$1,400), making it the most expensive study visa globally. The proof of funds threshold for living costs rose to AU$29,710 (about US$20,000) per year in 2024, and private health insurance premiums are set to increase by 4.4% in April 2026. Many universities have also raised tuition fees, with average annual increases of more than 6% in 2025.Previous visa fee increases were justified by the government as measures to ensure only genuine students apply. Critics, however, noted that rising fees coincided with soaring visa refusal rates, particularly affecting vocational education (VET) and English-language training (ELICOS) students, many of whom lost their non-refundable fees.Implications for recruitmentAustralian immigration expert Dr Abul Rizvi, as quoted bby ICEF Monitor, said that rising costs are outpacing inflation, and for many students, the ability to work after studies offsets the expense of studying abroad.The latest fee increase is expected to influence the decisions of prospective international students, who carefully weigh post-study work opportunities when calculating the return on investment for studying abroad.
