Governor-General Sam Mostyn has signed the Migration Amendment (Temporary Graduate Visa Reform) Regulations 2026, registering them on 12 November and setting commencement for 13 November 2026. The 58-page instrument rewrites Schedule 1 and Schedule 2 criteria for the Subclass 485 Temporary Graduate visa, most notably restricting who can be added as a secondary family applicant. Going forward, partners and children may only be included at time of primary lodgement, and only in defined circumstances such as Pacific-regional passport holders, recent doctoral graduates or government-sponsored scholars. The change ends the practice of adding new dependants months or years after a graduate visa is granted—a pathway that contributed significantly to the surge in net overseas migration in 2024-26. Home Affairs data shows that secondary 485 applicants tripled between 2021 and 2025, accounting for almost one-quarter of all holders by early-2026. Policy makers argue the visa is intended for post-study work experience, not family migration, and that tighter rules will help return overall migration numbers to the Government’s target cap of 225,000 by 2028. For universities and employers, the reform has immediate operational implications. International student marketing materials, offer letters and graduate recruitment campaigns must now clarify that bringing in a spouse or partner later will no longer be possible for most cohorts. HR teams sponsoring graduates onto longer-term skilled visas should prepare for employees’ partners to require separate entries via visitor or skilled-dependent pathways, adding cost and complexity. Students currently on a 485 visa retain their existing rights, but future applications lodged on or after 13 November must meet the new combined-lodgement requirement. Migration advisers expect a short-term spike in onshore lodgements before midnight 12 November, followed by a lull as stakeholders digest the new rules. Longer-term, analysts believe the reform will shift Australia’s international education value proposition towards younger, single students and favour institutions able to bundle clear post-study employment pipelines. It may also encourage graduates to look at regional employer-sponsored visas that carry a clearer family pathway.
Source: Federal Register of Legislation
