Australia Tightens Family Member Rules for Subclass 485 Temporary Graduate Visas

On 12 November 2026, the Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia, the Honourable Sam Mostyn AC, made the Migration Amendment (Temporary Graduate Visa Reform) Regulations 2026 under the Migration Act 1958. Commencing on 13 November 2026, it restrict how members of the family unit may apply for a Subclass 485 (Temporary Graduate) visa.

These amendments apply exclusively to visa applications made on or after 13 November 2026. Applications lodged prior to commencement remain unaffected.

 

A central feature of the reform is the removal of the pathway allowing family members to lodge a separate Subclass 485 application after the primary applicant has already applied for or been granted the visa.

• Mandatory Combined Lodgement: Under new paragraph 1229(3)(f)(ii) of Schedule 1, any application by a person seeking to satisfy the secondary criteria must be made at the same time as, and combined with, the primary applicant’s application.

• Grant Criteria Alignment: Replaced Clause 485.311 of Schedule 2 reinforces this requirement as a criterion for visa grant, stipulating that the secondary applicant must be a member of the family unit of a Subclass 485 primary visa holder and must have made a combined application with that person.

• Repeal of Separate Application Provisions: Provisions enabling separate subsequent entrant lodgements and their corresponding application mechanisms in subitem 1229(2) and subitem 1229(5) have been repealed.

  

Under the new rule, a person claiming to be a member of the primary applicant's family unit may only make a valid application as a secondary applicant if at least one of the following six criteria is satisfied:

1. Specified Nationality: The primary applicant holds a passport from a Pacific-regional country or a country specified in subitem 1222(5A) of Schedule 1.

2. Completed Doctoral Degree: The most recent student visa held by the primary applicant was granted in relation to a doctoral degree that has been completed.

3. Foreign Government Funding: The most recent student visa held by the primary applicant was granted in relation to one or more courses of study, each of which was fully funded by a foreign government.

4. Newborn Child: The secondary applicant is a child of the primary applicant and was born after the most recent student visa or Subclass 485 visa was granted to the primary applicant.

5. Prior Student Visa Dependant: The secondary applicant holds—or held on 2 October 2026, or at any time within the 6-month period ending immediately before the day of application—a student visa granted on the basis of satisfying the secondary criteria, in respect of which the primary applicant held the corresponding primary student visa.

6. Prior Subclass 485 Dependant: The secondary applicant holds—or held at any time within the 6-month period ending immediately before the day of application—a Subclass 485 visa granted on the basis of satisfying the secondary criteria, in respect of which the primary applicant held the corresponding primary Subclass 485 visa.

The regulations also clarify and restructure where applicants must be located at the time of application and the immigration status required for onshore secondary applicants:

Applicant Category	Location at Time of Application	Additional Lodgement Requirements
Primary Applicant	Must be in Australia, but not in immigration clearance.	Must meet the requirements of subitem 1229(4).
Secondary Applicant	May be in or outside Australia, but not in immigration clearance.	Must lodge a combined application with the primary applicant; if in Australia, must satisfy subitem 1229(4A).

  

If a secondary applicant is in Australia at the time of application, they must satisfy one of three conditions:

• Hold a substantive visa;

• Hold a Bridging A (Class WA) or Bridging B (Class WB) visa granted on the basis of a valid visa application; or

• Where the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) has set aside and substituted a decision of the Minister not to revoke the cancellation of the applicant's student visa, have been notified (or taken to have received notification) of the ART’s decision not more than 28 days before the day the application is made.

Facing these new changes, international students planning to transition from a student visa to post-study work rights should factor their family plans into their timeline early. Couples or families who did not apply together during the student visa stage will generally need to explore independent visa options—such as separate student, skilled, or visitor visas—rather than relying on a post-study dependant pathway.