485 Visa Family Rules Changed on 13 November 2026: Who Can Still Include a Partner or Child on a Temporary Graduate Visa

You finish your degree in a few weeks. Your partner is overseas, and the plan was always the same: get the 485 first, then bring them over afterwards. Since 13 November 2026, that plan no longer works.

On 13 November 2026 the family rules for the Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) changed. The regulation was signed and registered on 12 November and started the next day. The Department says the eligibility requirements for the graduate have not changed. Age, English, the study requirement and the streams are the same. What changed is which family members can apply with you, and when.

We are Nationwide Migration and Education, a Brisbane migration agency and a team of registered migration agents at 320 Adelaide Street, Brisbane. We have read the regulation, the Explanatory Statement and the Department of Home Affairs guidance. Here is what they say.

The three changes in short

1. Family can no longer be added after the 485 is granted. The "subsequent entrant" application is closed for everyone, including people who fit an exemption.

2. Family can only apply with you if they fit one of six situations. For most graduates, that means your partner or child was already on your Student visa or your 485.

3. Everyone applies together. Your family must lodge at the same time as you, in one combined application. You must be in Australia. They can be in or outside Australia.

These rules apply to applications made on or after 13 November 2026. If you applied before that date, including a subsequent entrant application lodged before that date, the old rules apply to that application.

What is in force and what is not

This is law, not an announcement. The change was announced on 17 September 2026 and is now in the Migration Amendment (Temporary Graduate Visa Reform) Regulations 2026, in force from 13 November 2026.

If your partner or child already holds a 485 as your dependant, their visa is not affected. The new rules only matter when a new application is made.

Who can still be included: the six situations

Under the regulation, a family member (your partner or your dependent child) can make a valid 485 application only if at least one of these applies.

In situations 1 and 2 the earlier visa must have been held as your dependant. A partner who held their own Student visa as the main student does not fit.

Why 2 October 2026 matters

On 2 October 2026 the Student visa rules changed and many dependants could no longer get a further Student visa. The Explanatory Statement says the 2 October date is there so those families are not shut out. If your partner or child held a Student visa as your dependant on 2 October 2026, they fit situation 1 even if that visa has since ended. If they are in Australia, read the visa status rule further down.

The listed Pacific and ASEAN countries

The exemption depends on the passport you hold.

- Pacific: Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu.

- ASEAN: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam.

If you hold one of these passports, you can include a partner or child who was never on your Student visa. They still have to apply at the same time as you.

Four details that are easy to miss

The Department's web page is a plain summary. The regulation is more exact, and the difference matters in four places.

1. The PhD and scholarship exemptions look at your most recent Student visa. The regulation asks whether your most recent Student visa was granted for a doctoral degree you have completed, or for study fully funded by a foreign government. If you studied a package of courses, the Explanatory Statement says every course must have been fully funded. If you finished a PhD and then held another Student visa for a different course, get advice before relying on this exemption.

2. "Newborn" does not mean a baby. The Department calls it the newborn rule. The regulation says the child must have been born after your most recent Student visa or 485 was granted. A child born before that grant, and never included on your visa, does not fit.

3. Family in Australia must hold the right visa on the day you apply. A family member who is in Australia must hold a substantive visa, or a Bridging visa A or Bridging visa B granted on a valid visa application. There is one narrow exception, for a Student visa cancellation set aside by the Administrative Review Tribunal in the last 28 days. A family member in Australia on a Bridging visa C or E, or with no visa, cannot validly apply. A family member outside Australia does not need to hold a visa to apply.

4. The graduate must be in Australia. The main applicant must be in Australia when applying. The old provision that allowed some main applicants to apply from outside Australia has been repealed.

What about a baby?

- Born in Australia while you hold a 485. Your child automatically holds the same visa as you. No application is needed. You must tell the Department about the birth.

- Born after your most recent visa was granted, and not already holding your visa. This is usually a child born outside Australia. The child cannot be added to your current 485. The child can be included when you apply for your next 485, at the same time as you, and can be in or outside Australia.

The ImmiAccount warning

The Department has said ImmiAccount may still let you add a family member who is not eligible. The system accepting the form does not make the application valid.

An invalid application is not considered. The Explanatory Statement confirms it cannot go to the tribunal for merits review. Only judicial review in the courts remains. The Department also warns that an invalid application may affect your family member's visa status, and that if their visa has already expired they may not be able to apply for another visa.

Check eligibility before you lodge, not after.

What has not changed

- The requirements for the graduate: age, English, the study requirement, the streams and how long the visa lasts.

- 485 visas already granted, including family members who already hold one.

- Applications lodged before 13 November 2026.

- A child born in Australia to a 485 holder still gets the parent's visa automatically.

What this means for you

Your partner or child is on your Student visa now. They can apply with you. Lodge together, in one application. Do not let their visa status lapse before you apply.

Your partner was never on your Student visa. Unless you fit the Pacific, ASEAN, PhD or foreign government exemption, they cannot be included on your 485 and cannot join it later. The Explanatory Statement says family members can still apply for their own visa if they qualify for one. Other visas have their own family rules, which this regulation does not change.

You already hold a 485 and planned to bring your partner over later. That option closed on 13 November 2026. The next chance is a second 485, if you are eligible for one, and only if your family member fits one of the six situations. For most people the better question is which visa comes after the 485.

You are applying for a second 485. The same six situations apply. Family who hold a 485 as your dependant, or held one in the last 6 months, can apply with you. So can family who fit the Student visa test in situation 1. A new partner cannot, unless you fit an exemption.

You are an employer with graduates on a 485. A worker separated from their family is less likely to stay. Employer sponsorship has its own family rules. Talk to us about the timing.

Three things to bring us

We do the straightforward matters and the complicated ones: refusals, cancellations, tribunal reviews, health and character problems. If your file is messy, it is not our first messy file.

Book a consultation at https://nationwidemigration.com.au/services or call our Brisbane office on +61 7 3726 5183.

1. Your current visa grant letter, and the grant letters for every Student visa and 485 you have held

2. The grant letter or visa details for each family member, showing whether they were on your visa as a dependant and on what dates

3. Your course completion letter and transcript, plus any scholarship letter if a foreign government funded your study

General information only, current as at 13 November 2026. Not migration advice for your specific circumstances.