Australia’s Department of Home Affairs has declared its decision to uphold the minimum age requirement of 50 for post-study work visas aimed at research students. This determination comes in the wake of amendments to the Temporary Graduate Visa Program, scheduled to be enforced from July 1, 2024.
Initially, the Department proposed to reduce the minimum age threshold to 35 across all streams of the Temporary Graduate 485 visa, except for individuals holding Hong Kong and British National Overseas passports. However, following feedback regarding the potential consequences of this alteration on postgraduate research students, the Department opted to retain the higher age limit specifically for research students in the Post-Higher Education Work Stream, previously recognized as the Post-Study Work Stream.
According to the revised guidelines, graduates with Master’s (research) and doctoral degrees (PhD), along with Hong Kong and British National Overseas passport holders under the age of 50, will remain eligible for the visa. This decision seeks to strike a balance between the government’s objective of attracting global talent and apprehensions regarding the age criterion for research students.
The initial migration strategy, unveiled in December, suggested that lowering the age threshold would support “early career professionals.” However, critics contended that the proposed age cut-off would exclude a significant portion of doctoral graduates. The Group of Eight underscored that in 2022, 40% of international PhD students in Australia were aged 30 or older, rendering many ineligible for a visa under the envisaged age limit upon completing their PhD.
The 35-year age limit will continue to apply to graduates of taught master’s, bachelor’s, associate degree, and vocational programs, effective July 1, 2024.
Confirmed post-study work entitlements outlined by the government include:
- 2 years for Bachelor Degree (unchanged)
- 2 years for Master’s by coursework (reduced from 3 years)
- 3 years for Master’s by research (unchanged)
- 3 years for PhD (reduced from 4 years)
The eligibility criteria for a second temporary graduate visa remain unaltered, though the two-year extension introduced in 2022 will cease.
Further alterations encompass the renaming of several streams. The post-study and second post-study work streams will be rebranded as the post-higher and second post-higher education work streams, respectively, while the graduate work stream will be known as the post-vocational education work stream.