The Department of Home Affairs has formally opened registrations for the 2025-26 Mobility Arrangement for Talented Early-professionals Scheme (MATES)—the flagship labour-mobility program created under the India–Australia Migration and Mobility Partnership Agreement. Although the online ballot went live on 1 November, officials confirmed the launch to Indian media on 14 November 2025, triggering a surge of interest among recent STEM graduates in cities from Bengaluru to Chandigarh.
MATES sits inside the Subclass 403 ‘International Relations’ visa and grants up to 3,000 Indian citizens aged 18-30 a two-year, open work visa with no requirement for employer sponsorship. Successful entrants can bring partners and dependent children without affecting the annual cap—an attractive feature for multinationals that rotate talent between India and Australia.
![Ballot opens for 2025-26 MATES visa, giving 3,000 young Indians two-year work rights in Australia]()
The application process mirrors New Zealand’s working-holiday ballots: candidates first pay an AU$25 fee to enter a randomised draw that closes on 14 December. Those selected then have 30 days to lodge a streamlined visa application (AU$365) via ImmiAccount, undergoing standard health, character and English checks. Visa holders must arrive in Australia within 12 months and may travel in and out freely during the two-year validity.
Canberra positions the scheme as ‘skills circulation’ rather than a back-door to permanent residency; participants must leave when the visa expires or transition to an employer-sponsored pathway. IT giants such as Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services are already adjusting graduate-rotation programs to integrate MATES, while the big four consultancies see it as a pipeline for data-analytics and AI talent.
For HR and mobility teams the practical advice is clear: track ballot results, pre-board candidates quickly, and budget for family-arrival support in early 2026 when the first cohort lands across Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide’s growing tech precinct.
MATES sits inside the Subclass 403 ‘International Relations’ visa and grants up to 3,000 Indian citizens aged 18-30 a two-year, open work visa with no requirement for employer sponsorship. Successful entrants can bring partners and dependent children without affecting the annual cap—an attractive feature for multinationals that rotate talent between India and Australia.
The application process mirrors New Zealand’s working-holiday ballots: candidates first pay an AU$25 fee to enter a randomised draw that closes on 14 December. Those selected then have 30 days to lodge a streamlined visa application (AU$365) via ImmiAccount, undergoing standard health, character and English checks. Visa holders must arrive in Australia within 12 months and may travel in and out freely during the two-year validity.
Canberra positions the scheme as ‘skills circulation’ rather than a back-door to permanent residency; participants must leave when the visa expires or transition to an employer-sponsored pathway. IT giants such as Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services are already adjusting graduate-rotation programs to integrate MATES, while the big four consultancies see it as a pipeline for data-analytics and AI talent.
For HR and mobility teams the practical advice is clear: track ballot results, pre-board candidates quickly, and budget for family-arrival support in early 2026 when the first cohort lands across Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide’s growing tech precinct.
