working & staying after study
After you graduate, Australia offers a temporary work visa and, for some, a longer-term path. Here's what's realistic — and what isn't.
The main post-study route is the Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485). It was reformed on 1 July 2024 — the streams were renamed and several limits tightened, so anything written before that date is unreliable.
Lodge within 6 months of completing your course, from within Australia, via ImmiAccount.
English: IELTS 6.5 minimum, with results valid for one year.
Age limit: 35 for most applicants, down from 50 since 1 July 2024.
Fee: ≈ AUD 4,600 for the main applicant.
Three streams, and which one you fall into is decided by what you studied and where.
Post-Higher Education Work
PHEW — for eligible bachelor's, master's and doctoral graduates. Generally no skilled-occupation-list requirement.
Post-Vocational Education Work
PVEW — for eligible VET graduates. Requires a positive skills assessment.
Second PHEW
Additional time for graduates who studied and lived in regional Australia.
The regional angle is worth taking seriously before you choose a city. Studying in Adelaide, Perth or a regional centre is cheaper and can extend your post-study work time — two of the three levers you actually control.
Durations under the post-July-2024 rules, by qualification level.
Bachelor's degree: about 2 years
Master's by coursework: about 2 years
Master's by research or doctoral: about 3 years
Regional graduates: 1–2 additional years via the Second PHEW stream.
Sources disagree on the master's-by-coursework duration — some say 2 years, others 3. We are not going to pick one and present it as settled — check the official 485 page for your exact qualification before you plan around it.
Permanent residency is possible, but it is points-tested, competitive, and not granted by studying. Most graduates move from the 485 toward General Skilled Migration — the points-tested subclass 189 and 190 — often via state nomination, or through employer sponsorship on a subclass 482.
Regional study and work help, through extra points and dedicated regional visas. But the outcome depends on your occupation, your skills assessment, English, age, and the policy settings of that year — all of which move.
PR is not automatic, and this is the most volatile area on the whole site. We deliberately do not publish occupation lists or points thresholds here — any list we printed would be out of date before you needed it. Go to the official Home Affairs pages for the current position.
The part most sites leave out. Demand is real but uneven, and your field matters more than your university.
Stronger demand: health and nursing, IT, engineering, trades, teaching and care sectors
Weaker, more competitive outcomes: oversupplied fields — outcomes depend heavily on field, location and candidate
Broader trend: recent migration tightening is squeezing the student → work → PR pipeline
Read that as a planning input, not a discouragement. If your field is on the strong side, the pathway is genuinely open. If it is not, go in with a clear plan for how you will differentiate — and do not assume the degree alone carries you into work.