On February 19, 2026, the Australian Government passed a legislative instrument doubling the 485 visa fee. Two days later, BPAY was disabled for 485 applications, attributed to a system upgrade. It came back online on March 1, the exact day the new fee took effect. Many graduates who planned to lodge that final week could not pay at the old rate.
The ones who made it paid $2,300. The ones who did not pay $4,600 for the same visa, with less than six weeks' total notice that the change was coming.
What the 485 visa cost increase actually means in numbers
The Subclass 485 fee doubled from $2,300 to $4,600 for all applications lodged on or after 1 March 2026. For a couple, total government fees are $6,900. For a family with one dependent, over $8,000 before any migration agent costs. Exemptions apply only to citizens of Pacific Island nations and Timor-Leste.
It is now the most expensive post-study work visa in the world, roughly double the UK Graduate Route and significantly more than comparable pathways in Canada and New Zealand.
The increase also came alongside a new Genuine Student assessment replacing the old Genuine Temporary Entrant test, a ban on visa-hopping between certain temporary subclasses, and the student visa fee rising from $1,600 to $2,000.
Is the post-study work visa Australia still worth it?
For most graduates, yes. But it depends on your field and whether you have a plan.
Two years of unrestricted work rights in Australia builds the local experience, professional network, and skilled migration points that are nearly impossible to accumulate from overseas. In engineering, technology, healthcare, and accounting, the 485 is still a genuine path to permanent residency. The fee doubled. The opportunity did not shrink.
What changed is the cost of going in without a plan. Some graduates used the 485 as breathing room to figure out what they wanted. At $4,600 that is a real financial risk, not a gap year. The graduates who get the most value from it now are the ones who enter it with a job lined up, or focused applications already running.
What this means if you are still studying
The BPAY situation is not just about a payment outage. It is about what happens when your entire plan depends on a window that can close without warning.
If you are in your first or second year, build local experience and networks now, before you need them. The graduates who avoid the scramble are the ones who started early. By the time their visa expires, $4,600 is a formality rather than a lifeline because they already have a role.
If you are approaching graduation, the question is whether you are going into the post-study period with a plan or hoping one appears. That answer matters more than any visa strategy.
All of our mentors navigated Australia's visa and job market as international students themselves. If you want to think through what this means for your situation, book a free call. No commitment, just a real conversation.
For more on what the current hiring market looks like, read: Is the Australian Graduate Job Market Actually Getting Harder? Here's What the Data Says.