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Working Holiday visa program

This visa is for people aged 18 to 30 years of age from the following countries who are interested in a working holiday in Australia of up to 12 months.

Belgium France Malta Republic of Korea
Canada Germany Netherlands Sweden
Denmark Hong Kong Norway Taiwan
Estonia Italy Republic of Cyprus United Kingdom
Finland  Japan Republic of Ireland
       

Visa conditions

The visa holder must comply with all visa conditions while in Australia on a Working Holiday visa. Further to the work and study limitations, additional visa conditions may be imposed on the first or second Working Holiday visa (see below for information on second Working Holiday visas). A breach of any of these conditions may result in the visa being cancelled and the visa holder may have to leave Australia.

Studying

  • The visa holder must not study in Australia for longer than four months.
  • If the visa holder studies while on the first Working Holiday visa, he/she may return to the same institution if granted a second Working Holiday visa. (see below for information on second Working Holiday visas).
  • Four months is interpreted as 17 weeks of actual study excluding holidays and orientation period.

Working

  • The visa holder can do any kind of work in Australia and may work with the same employer for up to six months.
  • The six month work limitation applies to full time, part time, casual and shift work. Workplace based training is considered to be work.
  • The visa holder is able to undertake workplace based training with each employer for up to six months.

In relation to the employer:


  • The 'employer' is the business for which the visa holder is working directly. If referred by an agency or labour supplier to a business, the visa holder can work for six months for that business. The same agency or labour supplier can refer the visa holder to another business where he/she can work for another six months. 
  • For the purpose of the six month limitation, the 'employer' is considered to be the business for which the visa holder is working directly, even if being paid by an agency or labour supplier.
  • Working for longer than six months with the same organisation is generally not allowed, regardless of whether the duties or the location of the employee change.
  • A Working Holiday visa holder may work for independently owned franchises located in different areas for up to six months at each site, as long as the franchisees are owned by different employers with different Australian Business Numbers.

Note: The visa holder cannot stay in the same job beyond six months by using different employment agencies, business affiliates or sub-contracting arrangements. 

 

Second Working Holiday visa (subclass 417)

To qualify for the second Working Holiday visa, an applicant must have completed three months of specified work in regional Australia while on their first Working Holiday visa.

Areas of specified work
Specified work is work in the areas listed below. It does not include work in the tourism and hospitality sector. 

Plant and animal cultivation
  • cultivating or propagating plants, fungi or their products or parts;
  • general maintenance crop work;
  • harvesting and/or packing fruit and vegetable crops;
  • immediate processing of animal products including shearing, butchery in an abattoir, packing and tanning (Note: secondary processing of animal products, such as small goods processing and retail butchery, is not eligible);
  • immediate processing of plant products;
  • maintaining animals for the purpose of selling them or their bodily produce, including natural increase;
  • manufacturing dairy produce from raw material; and
  • pruning and trimming vines and trees.
Fishing and pearling
  • conducting operations relating directly to taking or catching fish and other aquatic species; and
  • conducting operations relating directly to taking or culturing pearls or pearl shell.
Tree farming and felling
  • felling trees in a plantation or forest;
  • planting or tending trees in a plantation or forest that are intended to be felled; and 
  • transporting trees or parts of trees that were felled in a plantation or forest to the place where they are first to be milled or processed or from which they are to be transported to the place where they are to be milled or processed.
Mining
  • coal mining;
  • construction material engineering;
  • exploration;
  • metal ore mining;
  • mining support services;
  • oil and gas extraction; and
  • other non-metallic mineral mining and quarrying.
Construction
  • building completion services;
  • building installation services;
  • building structure services;
  • heavy and civil engineering construction;
  • land development and site preparation services;
  • non-residential building construction;
  • residential building construction; and
  • other construction services.

 

Specified work:

  • does not need to be paid work. For example work undertaken as a volunteer or through the Willing Workers on Organic Farms (WWOOF) scheme may also qualify, if the work undertaken falls within the areas of specified work identified above; 
  • does not need to be undertaken as a direct employee. For example work as a contractor within the areas of specified work identified in the list above, is eligible; and
  • must be identified in areas of specified work as listed above. For example, working as a nanny for a farmer would not be eligible. It also does not include office, administration or reception work in the areas of specified work listed above.

Further information is available from the Australian Government Department of Immigration and Citizenship website.