Selected in the Australian subclass 462 ballot and about to turn 31?

Check two dates before you lodge: the deadline in your selection notice and the day before your 31st birthday. Home Affairs requires selected applicants to lodge within the notice period and no later than the day before they turn 31. Plan around whichever deadline comes first. You must also be outside Australia when you lodge your first subclass 462 application.

Compare the notice date with your birthday

Suppose your selection notice expires on 20 November and you turn 31 on 14 November. Under the ballot guidance, you must lodge by 13 November, Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST). If your 31st birthday is on 26 November and the notice expires on 20 November, the notice deadline comes first.

Home Affairs ordinarily gives selected applicants 28 calendar days after notification. A birthday can shorten the time you actually have. Check the exact date in your letter and in ImmiAccount. Put that date, your age deadline and any planned departure from Australia on one timeline. Leave room for flight changes, uploading documents and completing payment.

What if you turn 31 while waiting for a decision?

Home Affairs says you can still meet the age requirement if you lodged while you were 30 and turned 31 before the Department decided the application. Other visa criteria still apply. Save your lodgement receipt and confirm the application status in ImmiAccount. A completed but unsubmitted form, a selection email or a payment to an adviser is separate from lodging with the Department.

If you are close to the earlier deadline

Check your current passport, education evidence and Functional English documents. If you are still in Australia, confirm when you can actually depart before lodging. If the online form stalls, preserve the linked application and record the error. See the ImmiAccount troubleshooting guide for the official support process.

For a deadline review with Premiervisa Group, have your selection notice, date of birth, current location and travel dates ready.

Policy checked on 6 November 2026. See Home Affairs subclass 462 ballot guidance and the first subclass 462 visa criteria.