Subclass 485 Visa Fee Rises to AUD 5,750 from 1 July 2026: What Indian Students Must Know

Australia's Subclass 485 fee rose to AUD 5,750 on 1 July 2026, its second increase this year, up from AUD 4,600 in March and AUD 2,300 before that. The base charge has risen sharply across 2026.

• The Subclass 485 base fee is now AUD 5,750 (about INR 3.7 lakh) from 1 July 2026.
• This is the second rise in 2026, after the AUD 4,600 hike on 1 March 2026.
• The base fee has climbed from AUD 2,300 to AUD 5,750 in 2026, a 150% jump.
• Eligible Pacific Island and Timor-Leste citizens pay a lower concession rate.

The latest rise, part of Australia's annual 1 July fee update, cements the 485 as one of the world's most expensive post-study work visas. For Indian students weighing where to study, the higher Subclass 485 fee adds a real cost to the Australia decision and its route to permanent residency.

What Changed in the Subclass 485 Fee

The Subclass 485 base application fee rose from AUD 4,600 to AUD 5,750 on 1 July 2026, the second increase in a single year, as part of Australia's annual visa fee update. Applicants now pay more than ever.

The increase applies to every new application lodged on or after 1 July 2026, so anyone who lodged earlier paid the AUD 4,600 rate that had applied since March. The wider study picture is in this guide on the average cost of studying abroad.

What changed and what stayed the same:

• Changed: the base application fee rose to AUD 5,750, the highest it has ever been.
• Stayed the same: the visa's duration, eligibility rules and work rights are unchanged.

Current Subclass 485 Fee in 2026

The current Subclass 485 fee is AUD 5,750 for the two main streams and AUD 2,265 for the regional Second Post-Higher Education Work stream, from 1 July 2026. The rise across 2026 has been steep.

The base fee has more than doubled since the start of the year, climbing in two steps. The trajectory is below.

Conversions use AUD 1 = INR 65 as of June 30, 2026, and move with the exchange rate.

The current fee by stream, as listed by the Department of Home Affairs, is:

Note: The 485 base fee has risen from AUD 2,300 to AUD 5,750 in 2026 alone, a jump of about 150% across two increases. A partner or dependent child adds further charges on top, so a family application now costs far more than the headline figure.

Why the Subclass 485 Fee Increased

The July 2026 rise is part of Australia's routine annual fee indexation, coming on top of the special March 2026 hike aimed at tightening the post-study work route. Two forces pushed the fee up.

Australia usually re-indexes all visa charges on 1 July each year, and the 485 rose to AUD 5,750 in that update. This followed the sharp March increase, which the government said would restore integrity to the visa and recover processing costs, while critics called it a revenue grab. You can weigh Australia against other destinations in this list of top universities abroad for Indian students. The main 2026 changes are below.

Note: Despite the higher fee, the Subclass 485 remains the main pathway to Australian permanent residency. For most graduates, the value of local work experience and the migration points it builds still outweighs the one-time charge, though the upfront cost now needs closer budgeting.

Subclass 485 Fee Impact on Indian Students

Indian graduates, the second-largest group of Subclass 485 holders, now pay about INR 3.7 lakh for the base fee alone, roughly INR 2.2 lakh more than at the start of 2026. The cost has climbed fast.

Around 24,000 Indian graduates received the 485 in 2025, so the rise affects a large share of Indian students in Australia. By comparison, the UK Graduate Route costs about GBP 822 (roughly INR 1 lakh), and Canada and New Zealand charge notably less, so Australia's AUD 5,750 now stands well above its rivals. A related Australia guide is this one on the study gap accepted in Australia.

Note: The extra cost lands on top of tuition and living expenses that are already among the highest globally. For families in states like Punjab and Kerala that fund study through loans, the repeated fee rises are a real added burden and a strong reason to budget carefully before committing.

If your goal is still Australia, then the fee is a one-time cost, not a yearly one. That means factoring it into your overall budget once, alongside tuition and living expenses, rather than treating it as a recurring charge.

Who Gets a Subclass 485 Fee Concession

Eligible citizens of certain Pacific Island countries and Timor-Leste get a Subclass 485 fee concession and pay a lower rate than the standard AUD 5,750. No other applicants qualify.

The concession aligns with Australia's Pacific engagement arrangements. For everyone else, including Indian applicants, the full fee applies with no payment plans. The concession covers:

The rise of the Subclass 485 fee to AUD 5,750 marks the second increase in 2026 and one of the sharpest cost climbs Australia's post-study route has seen. The visa's duration, eligibility and work rights are unchanged. It remains the main bridge to permanent residency, but the upfront cost now demands careful planning. Applicants should budget the full amount early, check whether they qualify for a concession, then confirm the latest figure on the Visa Pricing Estimator before lodging. For Indian students, Australia still offers strong post-study work rights, just at a markedly higher entry price than a year ago.