International graduates hoping to stay and work in Australia woke on 11 March to find the application charge for the Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) had jumped from AU$2,300 to AU$4,600 – a 100 per cent increase pushed through with just two weeks’ notice. The Department of Home Affairs says the extra revenue will fund 500 new case officers and modern cloud-based workflow tools, but migration advocates accuse the Government of price-gouging students who are already under financial strain. In a surprise twist, holders of passports from Timor-Leste and 14 Pacific Island states, including Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea, continue to pay the old fee. Officials say the exemption reflects Australia’s “special ties” to the Pacific, mirroring earlier student-visa discounts announced under the Pacific Engagement Visa program. Universities Australia has warned that the move could erode the country’s competitiveness against Canada and the United Kingdom, both of which have frozen or reduced post-study visa fees in the past 12 months. Education agents report frantic requests from students whose current visas expire on 15 March, with some taking short-term loans to cover the extra cost. For employers, the hike raises the cost of retaining recent graduates under employer-sponsored pathways because the 485 visa is often the bridge to a Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) or permanent residence nomination. Mobility teams should review budget assumptions for 2026-27 graduate intakes and consider whether direct sponsorship on a subclass 482 makes better financial sense. Longer term, the tiered-pricing model signals a willingness to differentiate visa charges by nationality – a precedent that could extend to other temporary visas. Companies recruiting from price-exempt Pacific countries may gain a small edge, while those sourcing talent from Asia or Latin America face higher upfront costs.
Source: ABC News
