Australia increased visa application charges for many popular visas from 1 July 2026, with most affected categories rising by 25%. The same update also changed parts of the Working Holiday Maker program, including higher age caps for some passport holders and a stricter rule on when age eligibility is assessed.
Visa application charges increased from 1 July 2026
New regulations for the 2026 program year confirmed income thresholds and raised visa application charges. For most affected visas, the increase was 25%.
New base application charges for selected visas are:
- $11,710 for partner visas;
- $6,140 for subclass 186 Employer Nomination Scheme visas;
- $4,015 for subclass 482 Skills in Demand visas;
- $2,500 for subclass 500 Student visas.
The largest highlighted increase concerns subclass 485 Temporary Graduate visas. The base application charge rose to $5,750, compared with $2,300 before 1 March 2026. That is described as a 250% increase from the earlier amount.
The article notes that there are few concessional arrangements available for the visas mentioned.
The government has room to raise these charges because the visa application charge limit is not close to the $12,500 cap set in the Migration (Visa Application) Charge Act 1997 (Cth) for visas other than contributory parent visas back in 1996. The article also notes that the cap can be indexed through a Consumer Price Index formula, meaning the current maximum limit is higher.
Working Holiday Maker age cap changes
The Working Holiday Maker program also changed.
The maximum age increased to 35 for passport holders from:
- Cyprus
- Finland
- Germany
- Republic of Korea
The age requirement for both subclass 417 Working Holiday and subclass 462 Work and Holiday visas has also moved from being assessed after lodgement to being required at the time of valid application lodgement.
Previously, age was handled as a Schedule 2 criterion, assessed after the application was lodged. It is now a Schedule 1 criterion, meaning the applicant must meet the age requirement to lodge a valid application in the first place.
The practical effect is that people who do not meet the age requirement should no longer be able to lodge a valid application. Instead of receiving a refusal, an invalid application is treated as never having been lodged.
For subclass 462 Work and Holiday visas, the regulations now include specific reference to age caps. The article says this gives flexibility to increase age caps when agreements are made. At present, all subclass 462 countries have a maximum age of 30.
Practical implications
Applicants planning Australian visa filings need to account for higher upfront costs from 1 July 2026, especially for partner, employer-sponsored, student, and temporary graduate visas.
Working holiday applicants should also check age eligibility before lodging, because the age rule is now part of whether the application is valid at the outset. Passport holders from Cyprus, Finland, Germany, and South Korea may benefit from the new 35-year cap, while subclass 462 applicants remain generally capped at 30 unless future agreements raise the limit.
Source article: www.peakmigration.com.au
