485 visa deadline calculator

For a Temporary Graduate visa you must have completed your course in the 6 months before the day you apply. Enter the date you completed it to see the last day you can apply.

The date you met the academic requirements of the course, as your provider's completion letter states it. Not the graduation ceremony, and not the date on your testamur.

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General information only, not legal advice.

How this is worked out

The Migration Regulations 1994 say: "The applicant, completed" the qualifications the application relies on (Schedule 2, clause 485.221 for the Post-Vocational Education Work stream and clause 485.231(1B) for the Post-Higher Education Work stream). "Completed" means having met the academic requirements for the award; the formal conferral, such as the graduation ceremony or the testamur, is not part of it (clause 485.111). These provisions were amended by the Migration Amendment (Graduate Visas) Regulations 2024 and the Migration Amendment (Graduate Visas No. 2) Regulations 2024. Read the Migration Regulations 1994 on the Federal Register of Legislation (compilation F2026C01017).

How we count. For an application made on a given day, the 6 months run from the same date 6 months earlier to the day before the application. The last day to apply is the latest day whose 6 months still include your completion date: a course completed on 15 August gives a last day of 15 February; one completed on 31 August gives 28 February, or 29 February in a leap year. Where the earlier month has no matching date (an application on 31 March would look back to 31 September), we take the 6 months to start on the next day, 1 October, because that reading gives the earlier deadline: a course completed on 30 September gives a last day of 30 March.

We do not move the last day when it falls on a weekend or public holiday. Lodge well before it. The 6-month rule in the Post-Higher Education Work stream does not apply to a second 485 on the regional grounds in clauses 485.232 to 485.235 (clause 485.231(1A)); if that is you, ask a lawyer. The visa application charge for the main applicant is $5,750 (Department of Home Affairs: current visa pricing).

Checked on 22-10-2026. General information only, not legal advice.

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