Temporary Graduate (subclass 485) visa changes: new family member rules from 13 November 2026

New rules commencing on 13 November 2026 change which family members can be included in a Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) application and where applicants must be when they apply.

Eligible family members must now apply at the same time as the primary applicant, as part of a combined application.

Family member can no longer apply separately later as subsequent entrants.

The changes are introduced by the Migration Amendment (Temporary Graduate Visa Reform) Regulations 2026. For graduates planning to include a partner or child, checking eligibility before lodging is particularly important as being a family member does not, by itself, establish eligibility to be included as a dependent on an application.

When do the new rules apply?

The amendments apply to visa applications made on or after 13 November 2026. Applications lodged before that date remain subject to the rules applicable when they were lodged.

The main changes concern family members and application arrangements. Primary applicants must continue to meet the eligibility requirements for their Temporary Graduate visa pathway, and must be in Australia when applying.

Which family members can be included?

Under the new framework, there are three main pathways for including family members:

• They have the required history as a dependant on the primary applicant’s Student visa or Temporary Graduate visa.
• The primary applicant falls within a specified passport, doctoral study or foreign-government-funded study category.
• They are a child born after the primary applicant was granted their most recent Student visa or Temporary Graduate visa.

These pathways do not remove the requirement to qualify as a member of the primary applicant’s family unit or to satisfy other applicable visa requirements.

Family members previously included on your visa

Applying for your first Temporary Graduate visa

A family member may be included through the previous Student visa pathway if they meet at least one of the following requirements:

• They currently hold a Student visa as your dependant.
• They held a Student visa as your dependant on 2 October 2026.
• They held a Student visa as your dependant at any time during the six months immediately before the application is made

The dependant’s Student visa must be linked to a Student visa you held as the primary applicant. Simply having held their own Student visa does not satisfy this particular pathway.

Applying for your second Temporary Graduate visa

For a second Temporary Graduate visa application, a family member may be included through the previous Temporary Graduate visa pathway if they:

• Currently hold a Temporary Graduate visa as your dependant; or
• Held a Temporary Graduate visa as your dependent at any time during the six months immediately before the application is made.

These provisions allow qualifying existing dependants to be included. They do not generally allow a new partner or another family member who was not a dependant on the relevant earlier visa to join the application unless another eligibility pathway applies.

Exceptions allowing existing or new family members

Some primary applicants can include eligible family members even if those family members were not dependants on their previous Student visa or Temporary Graduate visa. The legislation provides pathways where the primary applicant:

• Holds a passport from a qualifying Pacific-regional country or a country specified in the relevant provision covering ASEAN countries.
• Completed a doctoral degree to which their most recent Student visa related.
• Held their most recent Student visa in relation to one or more courses of study, each of which was fully funded by a foreign government.

The precise wording matters. For example, the doctoral pathway refers to a completed doctoral degree connected to the applicant’s most recent Student visa. The funding pathway requires each relevant course to have been fully funded by a foreign government. Applicants should not assume that any previous PhD study, scholarship or partial government funding will qualify.

Family members included under these exceptions must still meet the applicable family-unit and other visa requirements. They must also apply together with the primary applicant, not separately at a later date.

Where must you and your family members be when applying?

The new rules distinguish between the primary applicant and accompanying family members:

A family member who is overseas can therefore be included in a combined application with a primary applicant who is in Australia. Different locations do not remove the requirement to apply at the same time.

Family members applying from within Australia must also meet the applicable visa status requirements. These include holding a substantive visa, holding a qualifying Bridging A or Bridging B visa, or satisfying a narrowly defined provision relating to an Administrative Review Tribunal decision about a Student visa cancellation.

Can family members apply later as subsequent entrants?

No. Under the new rules, a family member’s application must be made at the same time as, and combined with, the primary applicant’s application. This applies even where the primary applicant meets one of the passport, doctoral study or foreign-government-funded study exceptions.

For example, a graduate who meets the doctoral study exception cannot lodge their own subclass 485 application and rely on that exception to bring their partner through a separate subsequent entrant application later. Eligibility to include the partner and the requirement to apply together are separate requirements.

This makes family planning before lodgement especially important. Applicants should establish who is eligible to be included and prepare the combined application before submitting it.

What are the rules for newborn children?

Children born outside Australia

A child born outside Australia after the grant of the primary applicant’s most recent Student (subclass 500) visa or Temporary Graduate (subclass 485) visa may be included in the parent’s first or second Temporary Graduate visa application.

For this pathway:

• The parent must be in Australia when applying.
• The child may be in or outside Australia.
• The child’s application must be made at the same time as the parent’s application.
• The child cannot be added through a later application after the parent’s Temporary Graduate visa has been granted.

Children born in Australia

If a parent holds a Temporary Graduate visa and their child is born in Australia, the child automatically holds a Temporary Graduate visa as a dependant. A separate visa application is not required, but the Department of Home Affairs must be notified of the birth.

The Department of Home Affairs provides a newborn notification process for subclass 485 visa holders. Parents should ensure the Department is informed and the child’s details are recorded as soon as possible.

What should applicants check before lodging?

Before submitting a Temporary Graduate visa application involving family members, applicants should:

1. Identify the eligibility pathway for each family member.
2. Check previous visa grants and dates, including the six-month lookback period and, where relevant, the 2 October 2026 Student visa provision.
3. Confirm whether a passport, doctoral study or foreign-government-funded study exception applies.
4. Check each applicant’s location and, for family members in Australia, their visa status.
5. Prepare eligible family members’ applications to be lodged together with the primary application.

The practical consequence of the reforms is that family eligibility and timing need to be addressed before lodgement, rather than left until after the graduate’s visa has been granted.

Assistance with a Temporary Graduate (subclass 485) visa application

Ethos Migration Lawyers can assist with assessing whether your partner or children can be included in a Temporary Graduate visa application, reviewing the relevant visa history and advising on the new combined application requirements.

If you are preparing a first or second subclass 485 application, contact our team for advice tailored to your family’s circumstances.