The COVID-19 replacement stream is a replacement for the initial Temporary Graduate visa. It is only available for Temporary Graduate visa holders impacted by the Australian travel restrictions. This means, people who could not stay in Australia for the full period allowed by their previous Temporary Graduate visa.

The replacement Temporary Graduate (subclass 485) visa will recognise the commitment made by international students to Australia. It will acknowledge the disruption to plans that COVID-19 and the associated travel restrictions caused.

Eligibility

To be eligible, applicants must:

• currently hold, or have held a Temporary Graduate visa that expired on or after 1 February 2020; and
• have been outside Australia at any time between 1 February 2020 and 15​ December 2021.

In normal circumstances, applicants can only be granted one Temporary Graduate visa, and a further visa is only available on the basis of regional work and study.

We are still determining details on the application requirements. It is likely that applicants will need to supply some supporting documents to apply for this visa stream.

Staying in Australia

Applicants will receive the full validity of their initial Temporary Graduate visa. This is determined by the level of their qualification.

Cost

The visa costs AUD1,680 for the primary visa applicant. There is also a charge for each family member who applies for the visa with them.

As successful applicants will be granted the full validity, the full visa application charge will apply.

Whilst holding this visa

​Applicants can live, study and work in Australia temporarily. They must find their own employment if we grant this visa. We are not responsible for arranging employment.

Applicants can include members of the family unit in their application when they apply. This includes family members that weren’t included in their original Temporary Graduate visa.

The Australian Agriculture visa is being designed for primary industry sectors including horticulture, meat processing, dairy, wool, grains, fisheries (including aquaculture) and forestry.

The program will be operated by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, leveraging their experience managing the successful Pacific Labour Scheme.

The Seasonal Worker Programme and Pacific Labour Scheme will remain the priority source of temporary migrant workers for Australia’s agriculture sector. The Australian Agriculture visa will address any labour gaps that cannot be filled by Australian and Pacific labour.

Availability of the Australian Agriculture visa

Building on the successful Pacific labour programs, the Government is working closely with industry to design the program.

The Australian Agriculture visa will be open to applicants from a range of countries, negotiated through bilateral agreements. The first workers will arrive once negotiations with sending countries and quarantine arrangements are agreed and finalised.

The legislative framework for the Australian Agriculture visa commenced on 30 Sept 2021.​​​

Country eligibility for the Australian Agriculture visa

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade will start bilateral negotiations with selected countries to participate in the Australian Agriculture Worker program.

Additional countries will be added over time.

Recruiting workers under the new visa

The Government will make further announcements on program details including the application process for employers, following formal consultation with industry. This began immediately after the Government’s announcement. 

Applying for the new visa

Details on how to apply, and eligibility requirements, will be determined through the program design process in consultation with industry.

Information on how to apply for the visa will be published on the Department of Home Affairs website when the process has been finalised.

Access to a permanent residence pathway

The Government has committed to exploring permanent residence pathways for participants in the program, including regional settlement. However, this will involve significant further consultation and design work.

Recruiting workers for upcoming harvests

The Pacific labour programs will remain the priority source of temporary migrant workers for Australia’s agriculture sector.

The Government’s commitment to double the number of Pacific workers to 25,000 in Australia by March 2022 means that there will be more workers available to fill critical workforce shortages for the upcoming harvest seasons.​

For more information and updates refer to The Australian Agriculture Visa