Does my course meet the Australian study requirement for the 485 visa in 2026?

Your course meets the Australian study requirement only if it clears five separate tests at the same time — CRICOS registration, at least 16 calendar months in total, at least two academic years of study, all instruction in English, and completion in Australia while you held a visa allowing study. Failing any one of them fails the whole requirement. That list comes from clauses 485.221 and 485.231 of the Migration Regulations 1994, and the Australian Department of Home Affairs states the same baseline on its Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) page, as at the October 2026 official page: you need a recent qualification in a CRICOS-registered course, and you must have held a Student visa in the last six months.

The five tests at a glance

Test	What the rule says	What you check on your own course
Registration	The result of a course, or courses, that are registered courses	Each course you rely on is listed on the Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students (CRICOS) — not just the provider
Calendar time	Completed in a total of at least 16 calendar months	The combined calendar span of the course or courses, not the teaching weeks
Academic load	Completed in a total of at least 2 academic years of study	Department procedures guidance treats two academic years as 92 weeks of scheduled study
Language	All instruction conducted in English	Every counted unit, including any taken at another institution
Location and visa	Undertaken in Australia as the holder of a visa authorising study	Where you physically studied, and the visa you held at the time

Is your course actually registered on CRICOS?

The requirement is about the course, not the institution. A university or college can be registered while a particular course it offers is not, and only study in a registered course counts toward the total.

This matters most when you combine qualifications. Because both clauses refer to “a course or courses”, you can add two courses together, but every course you count must itself be a registered course. A course that sits outside CRICOS contributes nothing to the 16 months or the two academic years.

Do your courses add up to 16 calendar months?

The 16-month figure is a calendar measure of the total period over which the course or courses were completed, so it is counted in months on the calendar, not in teaching weeks or semesters. Two shorter courses can be combined to reach it, as long as their combined span does.

A common trap is assuming that finishing faster than scheduled helps. It does not: compressing the same qualification into a shorter calendar period can leave you short of 16 months even when you have passed every unit.

Do you have two academic years of study — the 92-week test?

Two academic years is a separate test from 16 calendar months, and it measures scheduled duration rather than elapsed calendar time. The Department’s procedures guidance treats two academic years as 92 weeks of study; that figure comes from policy guidance rather than from the regulation text itself, so confirm the current wording on the official pages before you rely on it.

Because the two tests measure different things, a course can pass one and fail the other. An intensive or fast-tracked course may deliver 92 weeks of scheduled study inside a calendar period shorter than 16 months, and a course spread thin over a long enrolment may not reach 92 scheduled weeks.

Was all of the instruction in English?

Both clauses are written as “all instruction” — 485.221 uses “all instruction conducted in English”, and 485.231 uses “all instruction in English”. The test applies to the instruction that makes up the course you are counting, not to the language of your assessments or to the fact that the institution operates in English.

If any counted component was delivered in another language, that portion sits outside what the clause describes. The safe reading is to treat the English-language test as covering every unit you rely on.

Did you complete it in Australia, on a visa that allowed study?

The clause requires the course to have been undertaken in Australia while you held a visa authorising study. Study done outside Australia does not meet the location element of the test, even if it counts toward the qualification.

The Department’s procedures guidance also flags three things that can affect the assessment: offshore study, online study that makes up more than 25% of the course, and recognition of prior learning. Credit granted for earlier study reduces the study you actually undertook, which can pull the scheduled duration below two academic years. These are policy-level factors rather than regulation text, so treat them as areas to confirm against current official guidance.

Does your qualification type match the stream you plan to apply for?

The Australian study requirement sits inside a stream, and the qualification you hold decides which stream is open to you.

• Post-Higher Education Work stream — clause 485.231 applies to one or more degrees of a type, and awarded by an institution, specified by the Minister (485.231(1)(2)).
• Post-Vocational Education Work stream — clause 485.221 applies to associate degrees, diplomas or trade qualifications, and adds further tests: each qualification must be closely related to your nominated skilled occupation (485.222), you must show at lodgement that you have applied to the relevant assessing authority for a skills assessment (485.223), and the assessment must have been obtained within the last 3 years and apply to your nominated occupation (485.224).
• Replacement stream — for people who held a particular 485 visa and were affected by COVID-19 travel restrictions; the eligibility detail for this stream should be confirmed on the official page.

The Department’s page also warns that you apply for an eligible stream and cannot change streams after you apply. Getting the stream wrong is not fixable later in the same application.

When does the clock start — completion date or graduation?

The course requirement is framed around completion in the six months immediately before the date of application. Department procedures guidance treats the completion date as the date final results are released, not the date of the graduation ceremony or the date the testamur is issued, and results withheld — for example over unpaid fees — do not extend the period.

In practice, the documents that usually evidence both the completion date and the course dates are your completion letter and final academic transcript, which is why they carry so much weight in this test.

How to run the check on your own course

1. List every course you intend to count toward the requirement.
2. Confirm each one is a registered course on CRICOS.
3. Add up the calendar span across those courses and check it reaches 16 months.
4. Add up the scheduled study load and check it reaches two academic years, treated as 92 weeks under current guidance.
5. Confirm every counted unit was taught in English.
6. Confirm you were in Australia, on a visa authorising study, for the study you are counting.
7. Match the qualification to the stream before you apply, because the stream cannot be changed afterwards.

These rules change, and this article is general information only — it is not personalised advice for your circumstances, so confirm the current wording on the official pages and, where your history includes transfers, credit or offshore study, take qualified professional advice as well. Age, the English test, police checks and health cover are separate requirements that sit alongside the course test and are not covered here.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I combine two shorter courses to reach 16 calendar months?

Yes. Both 485.221 and 485.231 refer to “a course or courses”, so two or more qualifications can be added together to reach 16 calendar months and two academic years. Each course must be a registered course, and the courses you rely on must have been completed in the six months before you apply.

Does study done online or outside Australia count?

The regulation requires the course to have been undertaken in Australia while you held a visa authorising study, so study completed offshore does not meet the location test. Department procedures guidance also flags online study above 25% of the course as a factor that can affect the assessment, so check current policy guidance on this point.

Does credit transfer or recognition of prior learning shorten my study?

It can. Credit granted for earlier study reduces the study you actually undertook, and the two-academic-year test is measured on scheduled study. Department procedures guidance lists recognition of prior learning as a factor that can affect the assessment of the Australian study requirement.

Is 92 weeks the same thing as 16 calendar months?

No — they are two separate tests that measure different things. 92 weeks is the policy-level reading of two academic years of scheduled study, while 16 calendar months is elapsed time on the calendar. A fast-tracked course can satisfy one and fail the other.

Does every single unit have to be taught in English?

The clause is written as “all instruction”, so the English requirement applies to the instruction making up the course you are counting. Any component delivered in another language is a risk to the whole test rather than a minor exception.

When does my six-month window start?

Department procedures guidance treats the start of the window as the date your final results are released, not the date of your graduation ceremony or the date your parchment is issued. Results withheld, including over unpaid fees, do not extend the period.

Which stream does my qualification belong to?

Degrees are assessed under clause 485.231 for the Post-Higher Education Work stream, where the degree type and the awarding institution must meet the Minister’s specification, while associate degrees, diplomas and trade qualifications are assessed under clause 485.221 for the Post-Vocational Education Work stream, which also adds the closely-related occupation test (485.222), evidence at lodgement that you have applied for a skills assessment (485.223), and an assessment obtained within the last 3 years that applies to your nominated occupation (485.224). Because you cannot change streams after applying, confirm the match before you lodge.

References

• Australian Department of Home Affairs — Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485)
• Migration Regulations 1994 — Subclass 485 (Temporary Graduate) visa
• Australian Government — CRICOS course registration search