Visa application charges hiked 25 per cent for most; Age cap increases for some working holiday makers
/It was supposed to be government policy that visa application charges would not jump drastically, however, like with many promises, changing conditions mean these can be bent or broken. Anyone familiar with recent changes to Australia’s tax system can verify.
From 1 July 2026, visa application charges for many popular visas increased a substantial 25 per cent. Why by such an amount is anyone’s guess, but suspicions fall on the need for government revenue. When the demand for visas is inelastic, like the price of petrol for motorists, large increases in visa application charges seem like a good idea. There is, however, a limit to everything.
The regulations that finally confirmed important income thresholds for the new program year also increased visa application charges. For most, this was 25 per cent, which cannot be justified by any indexing measure. New base application charges for some popular visas are now:
$11,710 for partner visas,
$6,140 for subclass 186 – Employer Nomination Scheme visas,
$4,015 for subclass 482 – Skills in Demand visas, and
$2,500 for subclass 500 – Student visas.
The real kicker is subclass 485 – Temporary Graduate visas. The base application charge increased to $5,750, which is 250 per cent higher than before 1 March 2026 when it was $2,300, with no mitigating benefits.
There are few available concessional arrangements with the visas mentioned.
The Government can do this as the visa application charge limit is not close to the $12,500 set in the Migration (Visa Application) Charge Act 1997 (Cth), which was the limit for any visa other than contributory parent visas back in 1996! There is a formula that allows indexation based on the Consumer Price Index, so the maximum limit is now a lot higher.
Working Holiday Maker program age cap increases
The working holiday program sees a couple of important changes. Firstly, the age cap is lifted to the maximum age of 35 years for passport holders from Cyprus, Finland, Germany and the Republic of Korea.
Secondly, the age requirement for both the subclass 417 – Working Holiday and subclass 462 – Work and Holiday visas is moved from being assessed after lodging (Schedule 2 criteria) to a condition needing to be satisfied to validly lodge a visa application (Schedule 1 criteria). This means that it should now not be possible to lodge a valid application if the age requirement is not met. It avoids visa applications being refused as an invalid application is deemed to have never been lodged.
Lastly, for subclass 462 – Work and Holiday visas, there is now specific reference to age caps. Along with other amendments, this provides the flexibility to increase the age cap when an agreement is made. Currently, all countries under this visa subclass have a maximum age of 30.