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Mates ballot registration: what Indian graduates should have ready before the window opens

Visa guide · 2026-10-19 · 11 min read

Mates ballot registration is the first of three separate steps: you register and pay AUD25 during a short window, you wait to see whether you are selected, and only then do you lodge the subclass 403 visa application itself. In the 2025-2026 program year that window ran from 1 November to 14 December 2025, and selections were made from 15 December 2025 to 30 June 2026. The graduates who handle the year best are the ones whose degree, passport and English test are settled before the window opens, not after.

This guide follows a ballot year in order, for Indian engineering, ICT, mining, renewable energy, AI, fintech and agtech graduates who already know the basic rules and now want a plan. If you are still checking whether your degree and age fit, start with our Mates visa eligibility guide for Indian graduates and come back here.

Three steps, three different decisions

MATES (the Mobility Arrangement for Talented Early-professionals Scheme) is a stream of the Temporary Work (International Relations) visa, subclass 403. It lets Indian graduates and early career professionals live and work in Australia for up to two years, but nobody can apply for it directly: you must be selected in a ballot first.

That creates three moments where you spend money or make a commitment, and each one has its own test.

The rupee figures are a rough comparison only, at the Reserve Bank of Australia rate of 67.30 rupees per Australian dollar published on 8 October 2026. Rates change daily, so check the amount your card is actually charged.

A ballot year on the calendar

Home Affairs runs the ballot by program year. The 2025-2026 year is the most recent complete cycle on the official ballot page, and it shows the shape of the year:

• Registration: open from 1 November 2025 to 14 December 2025, and now closed.
• Selection: from 15 December 2025 to 30 June 2026, so selected people were not all chosen on one day.
• Places: up to 3,000 for primary applicants. Family members are not counted against that number.

The dates for the next program year are set by the Department, not by any agent or coaching centre. Treat the 2025-2026 pattern as a guide to how long the window may stay open, and confirm the real dates on the official MATES ballot registration page before you plan anything around them.

Because the dates and the draw belong to Home Affairs alone, any offer of a paid "priority" entry is a red flag; see how to spot a Work and Holiday or MATES ballot scam before you share your details.

A six-week window feels long until you need a document that takes a month to arrive. That is why the real work sits in the months before registration opens.

Before the window opens: settle what you cannot fix later

The age and degree rules are measured against the registration period itself, so a mistake here cannot be repaired after you are selected. Check each point against your own papers, not against what a classmate was told.

Your degree and the two-year clock

You need a bachelor degree or higher from a Top 100 institution on the NIRF India Rankings Overall 2024 List, obtained within two years of the start of the ballot registration period. For a 2024 B.Tech graduate from a ranked institute in Pune or Chennai, that means counting back from the day the window opens, not from when you lodge the visa. If your final degree certificate is still with the university, start chasing it now.

The degree must also relate to renewable energy, mining, engineering, information communications technology, artificial intelligence, financial technology or agricultural technology. Keep your transcript and course structure ready: they show what you studied far better than the degree title does.

Your age on registration day

Applicants must be 18 to 30 years old, inclusive. If you are close to the upper limit, the ballot year you aim for matters a great deal, so plan for the earliest window you can realistically meet.

Your passport

You need a valid Indian passport. Register with the same passport you will use for the visa, and renew it first if it is close to expiry. From 1 July 2026 a fresh or reissued 36-page ordinary passport costs Rs. 2500 (normal) or Rs. 5000 (Tatkaal) in India, which is cheaper than untangling a passport mismatch later.

Your English result

For MATES, an IELTS result needs an overall band score of at least 6.0 with at least 5 in each component. Home Affairs does not accept tests delivered entirely online at home, such as IELTS Online, so book a test centre. Taking the test before registration means you know where you stand: a strong overall band with one component under 5 still does not meet the rule.

If your writing or speaking band is the weak one, focused practice on the exact task types helps more than repeating full mock tests. PractiseNow has IELTS and PTE practice organised by section.

Registering: a short checklist for the day

1. Open the official MATES ballot registration page on immi.homeaffairs.gov.au yourself, typed into the browser, not from a link in a WhatsApp message.
2. Check the registration period shown on the page and the rules for that program year.
3. Enter your details exactly as they appear in your passport: name order, date of birth and passport number.
4. Enter your qualification details as they appear on your degree certificate, and keep a copy of what you submitted.
5. Pay the AUD25 registration fee with your own card and save the confirmation.
6. Remember that registration is not a visa application: there is nothing to lodge yet and no visa charge to pay.

Scammers follow ballots. The Australian High Commission has warned about scammers targeting Work and Holiday visa ballot registrations, and the same tricks fit MATES: fake "priority" registration, paid promises of selection or a request for your login. Nobody can raise your chance in the draw.

Between registration and selection: use the waiting months

Selections in the 2025-2026 year could arrive at any point up to 30 June 2026. If you are selected, the visa application follows, and the slowest documents are the ones to plan early.

Police Clearance Certificate

Home Affairs may ask for a police certificate from every country you lived in, usually if you are over 17 and lived there for at least 12 months in the past 10 years. For India, the document Home Affairs names is the Police Clearance Certificate (PCC): Indian citizens living in India apply to the Regional Passport Office, at a Passport Seva Kendra or Mini PSK within their passport office's jurisdiction.

The PCC is issued the same day when the police verification report for your existing passport is clear; otherwise it comes only after verification. The fee is Rs. 750 in India from 1 July 2026. Police certificates for Australian visas are valid for 12 months from the issue date, so time the PCC for after selection rather than long before. The Home Affairs character requirements page explains the rules.

Health examinations

If health examinations are requested, those done outside Australia must be with one of the Department's approved panel physicians or clinics, and you need a HAP ID to book. A private check-up at your local hospital will not count.

Your degree evidence and CV

Gather your degree certificate, transcripts and passport pages as clear scans with consistent names. Write an Australian-style CV now as well: if the visa is granted, you will want to apply for roles in your first weeks, not spend them formatting. Current IT and technology jobs in Australia and New Zealand show what employers are asking for.

For a head start on that CV, Build AI CV helps you turn degree projects and internships into an Australian-style layout. Talynx's guide on how international graduates in Australia can stand out to employers is worth reading alongside it, because it looks at what employers want from job-ready graduates.

After selection: what the visa stage asks

Selection gives you the right to apply, not a visa. Read the selection message carefully, note any deadline it gives, and lodge only through ImmiAccount, the only official website for applying for an Australian visa.

The MATES visa costs from AUD470.00. Besides the visa charge, applicants pay other costs for English tests, health checks, police certificates and biometrics, so budget for the whole stage, not just the charge. With the registration fee, the Department's own charges start at about INR 33,300 at the 8 October 2026 rate, before those other costs.

Once granted, the visa lets you do any kind of work and study in Australia. A visa grant that cannot be found in VEVO is probably fake, so check yours there before you resign or book flights.

Planning your first role from day one

Two years passes quickly. Because MATES is not tied to one employer, the strongest plan is a target occupation chosen before you land: a mining graduate might aim at roles like this mining engineer position in Brisbane, while ICT and AI graduates can compare MATES with the sponsored route in our guide to IT jobs in Australia for Indians.

A visa with a fixed end date rewards a clear direction. Our article on why a career strategy matters more than the qualification for Indian graduates in Australia helps you choose that direction before the visa clock starts.

For the practical side of arriving, from the tax file number to a bank account, use our 30-day plan for Indian professionals arriving in Australia.

Common mistakes in a Mates ballot year

• Counting the two years from the wrong date. The degree must be obtained within two years of the start of the registration period, not the visa lodgement date.
• Registering before the English test. One component below 5 fails the rule even with 6.0 overall.
• Booking an at-home test. Tests delivered entirely online are not accepted.
• Getting the PCC too early. It is valid for 12 months for Australian visas; one taken long before selection may lapse before it is needed.
• Paying someone to "improve your chances". The only fee in the ballot is the AUD25 paid on the official page.
• Treating selection as a grant. You still have to lodge, pay and meet every requirement.

Frequently asked questions

When does Mates ballot registration open?

The Department sets the dates for each program year. For 2025-2026 registration was open from 1 November to 14 December 2025 and is now closed, so check the official ballot registration page for the next window.

How much is the Mates ballot fee?

The ballot registration fee is AUD25, about INR 1,680 at the RBA rate of 8 October 2026. The visa charge, from AUD470.00, is paid only if you are selected and lodge an application.

How many places are there in the Mates ballot?

Australia allocates up to 3,000 places for primary applicants per program year. Family members are not counted in that number, so the cap applies to the main applicants only.

Should I take IELTS before registering for the ballot?

It is the safer order. The MATES rule is at least 6.0 overall with at least 5 in each component, and knowing your result before you register avoids paying for a ballot you cannot follow through on.

What happens after a notification of selection?

Selection lets you apply for the subclass 403 MATES visa through ImmiAccount. Read the message for any deadline, then lodge with your evidence and pay the visa charge; a grant is never automatic.

Key takeaways

• Registration, selection and the visa application are three separate steps with separate costs.
• The 2025-2026 window ran from 1 November to 14 December 2025; confirm each year's dates on the official page.
• Settle your degree dates, age, passport and IELTS before the window opens.
• Use the waiting months for the PCC timing, scans and an Australian-style CV.
• Nobody can buy you a better chance in the draw.

Every case is different — book a consultation and our partner registered migration agents (MARA) / licensed NZ advisers will assess yours.

Last checked: 2026-10-19 against the official pages linked above.

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