The Department of Home Affairs has provided additional clarification this week on the proposed changes to the Temporary Graduate Visa program, due to take effect from 1 July 2024 subject to the passing of the legislative amendments. Aimed at strengthening and simplifying Temporary Graduate visas, the changes were announced by the Australian Government when the Migration Strategy was released at the end of 2023. One of the key clarifications is a range of concessions that will be made to passport holders of certain countries that were not specified in the Migration Strategy, aligning with bilateral agreements that are in place.
Post-Study Work stream
The current Post-Study Work stream will be renamed the Post-Higher Education Work stream.
The stay periods will be as they appear in the Migration Strategy for passport holders from most countries:
- Bachelor degree (including honours) – up to 2 years
- Masters (coursework and extended) – up to 2 years (down from the current 3 years)
- Masters (research) and doctoral degree (PhD) – up to 3 years (down from the current 4 years)
The stay periods for Indian nationals, however, will not change because they were agreed in the Australian Indian – Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (AI-ECTA). They are:
- Bachelor degree (including honours) – up to 2 years
- Bachelor degree (with first class honours in STEM, including ICT) – up to 3 years
- Masters (coursework, extended and research) – up to 3 years
- Doctoral degrees (PhD) – up to 4 years.
The Migration Strategy also initially intended that the maximum eligible age limit would be reduced from 50 to 35. However, Hong Kong and British National Overseas passport holders will continue to be eligible, provided they are under 50 years of age. They may also be able to stay for up to 5 years, which is currently the case.
Graduate Work stream
As announced in the Migration Strategy, the Graduate Work stream will be renamed the Post-Vocational Education Work stream. With the change in name of the stream, there is greater specification of the qualification that must be held by the visa applicant. Rather than the current “qualification relevant to an occupation on the skilled occupation list”, applicants will be required to hold an associate degree, diploma or trade qualification, closely related to their nominated occupation on the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL).
Applicants with a degree level qualification will no longer be eligible for this stream and instead will be directed to apply through the newly named Post-Higher Education Work stream.
As above, a blanket age limit of 35 years, down from 50 years, was included in the Migration Strategy. However, Hong Kong and British National Overseas passport holders will continue to be eligible provided they are under 50 years of age and may be able to stay for up to 5 years, which is currently also the case.
The Second Post-Study Work stream will be renamed the Second Post-Higher Education Work stream and, the Replacement stream will cease, as was previously announced.
