Major Australian visa changes in 2026: Graduate visa application fees doubled

The Australian government has doubled application fees for two streams of the subclass 485 post-study graduate visa from $2,300 to $4,600, effective 1 March. The government has also introduced a ban on “visa-hopping”, preventing people on visitor visas or 485 visas from applying for student visas while in Australia. New legislation has also been introduced to allow a temporary ban on travellers from certain countries applying for specific visas.