Working Holiday visa (subclass 417)

The Working Holiday visa (subclass 417) is a temporary visa for young people who want to holiday and work in Australia for up to a year. It is a temporary visa that encourages cultural exchange and closer ties between Australia and eligible countries.

First Working Holiday visa: You must be outside Australia when you apply for your first Working Holiday visa and when the visa is decided.

Second Working Holiday visa: If you apply in Australia, you must be in Australia when the visa is granted. If you apply outside Australia, you must be outside Australia when the visa is granted.

Working in Australia – six months with one employer: You can generally only work six months with one employer. More information is available at Working in Australia – six months with one employer

What this visa lets you do

This visa allows you to:

• stay in Australia for up to 12 months
  
• work in Australia, generally for up to six months with each employer
• study for up to four months
• leave and re-enter Australia any number of times while the visa is valid.

Before you apply

Your passport

You need a valid passport or other travel document for this visa. If you plan to get a new passport, you should do so before applying for your visa. If you get a new passport after you have lodged your application, give the details of your new passport to one of our offices.

You might be able to update your passport details using ImmiAccount.

No further stay condition

Cost

This information tells you what you need to do to apply for a Working Holiday visa (subclass 417).

Who could get this visa

You might be able to get this visa if you:

• have not previously entered Australia on a Work and Holiday (Temporary) visa (subclass 462)
• hold a valid passport from a country involved in the Working Holiday Program with Australia
• have turned 18 years of age but have not yet turned 31
• are a genuine visitor who wants to have a holiday in Australia
• have enough money to support yourself on a working holiday (about AUD 5000)
• have enough money to buy a return or onward travel ticket at the end of your stay
• will not be accompanied by dependent children at any time during your stay.

Second Working Holiday Visa

To apply for a second Working Holiday (Temporary) visa (subclass 417), you must:

• have complied with all the conditions on your first Working Holiday visa
• have not previously held more than one Working Holiday visa
• have completed three months of specified work in regional Australia while on your first Working Holiday visa
• have not yet turned 31 years of age.
  

If you are already in Australia, and wish to remain onshore, you should apply for a second Working Holiday visa before your current visa expires and before you have turned 31 years of age.

Age of eligibility – Government announcement

The Government is considering options for expanding the upper age of eligibility from 30 to 35 years, including timeframes, legislative requirements and engagement with partner countries. Reciprocity of arrangements for Australian citizens remains a key feature of the program. The current age of eligibility (18 to 30) will remain in place for the time being.

From 1 November 2018, Canadian citizens up to and including, 35 years of age will be eligible to apply for a Work and Holiday (subclass 417) visa. This is an increase from the current maximum age of 30 years, which remains the maximum for all other Working Holiday countries.

Health requirements

Health insurance

Character requirements

Debts to the Australian Government

Provide biometrics

Eligible countries

To apply for this visa, you must hold a valid passport from a country involved in the Working Holiday Program with Australia. Eligible countries are:

• Belgium
• Canada
• Republic of Cyprus
• Denmark
• Estonia
• Finland
• France
• Germany
• Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (including British National Overseas passport holders)
• Republic of Ireland
• Italy
• Japan
• Republic of Korea
• Malta
• Netherlands
• Norway
• Sweden
• Taiwan
• United Kingdom.

Specified work

To apply for a second Working Holiday visa, you must have already completed three months of specified work in regional Australia. This specified work must have been completed while on your first Working Holiday visa.

Specified work is work that is undertaken in a 'specified' field or industry in a designated regional area. See the section on Regional Areas below to check the postcode list of designated regional areas.

All specified work performed on or after 1 December 2015 must be paid in accordance with the relevant Australian legislation and awards. Voluntary work performed after 1 December 2015 will not be accepted for the purpose of applying for a second Working Holiday visa. See Second Working Holiday visa applications – evidence of payment for specified work for more information.

Approved industries for specified work include:

• plant and animal cultivation
• fishing and pearling
• tree farming and felling
• mining
• construction.

Specified work is any type of work described in the list below:

• plant and animal cultivation
• the harvesting and/or packing of fruit and vegetable crops
• pruning and trimming vines and trees
  Note: This must be the your primary employment task and directly associated with the cultivation and commercial sale of plant produce, such as fruit and nut crops (commercial horticultural activities). General garden maintenance is not eligible.
• general maintenance crop work
• cultivating or propagating plants, fungi or their products or parts
• immediate processing of plant products
• maintaining animals for the purpose of selling them or their bodily produce, including natural increase
  Note: Maintaining animals for tourism or recreational purposes is not eligible.
• immediate processing of animal products including shearing, butchery, packing and tanning
  Note: Secondary processing of animal products, such as small goods processing and retail butchery is not eligible.
• manufacturing dairy produce from raw material.
  
  
• fishing and pearling
• conducting operations relating directly to taking or catching fish and other aquatic species
• conducting operations relating directly to taking or culturing pearls or pearl shell.
  
  
• tree farming and felling
• planting or tending trees in a plantation or forest that are intended to be felled
• felling trees in a plantation or forest
• transporting trees or parts of trees that were felled in a plantation or forest to the place where they are to be milled.
  
  
• mining
• coal mining
• oil and gas extraction
• metal ore mining
• construction material mining
• non-metallic mineral mining and quarrying exploration
• mining support services.
  
  
• construction
• residential building construction
• non-residential building construction
• heavy and civil engineering construction
• land development and site preparation services
• building structure services
• building installation services
• building completion services
• other construction services.

Work undertaken in the areas of plant and animal cultivation, fishing and pearling, and tree farming and felling must be described in the list above to meet the specified work requirement.

The Australian New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC) provides further detail about eligible work in mining and construction. Work undertaken in the mining and construction sectors must appear in the ANZSIC division for these sectors to meet the specified work requirement

Supporting work, such as book-keeping, in any industry described in the list above does not meet the definition of specified work.

Specified work:

• must be an activity listed above
• must be the primary role, function or activity performed during the applicants employment.

Examples of eligible specified work:

• picking fruits on an orchard
• feeding and herding cattle on a farm
• horse breeding and stud farming
• landscaping the grounds of a construction/house site
• painting the interior/exterior of new buildings
• conservation and environmental reforestation work
• zoo work involving plant or animal cultivation
• erecting fences on a construction site  
• scaffolding.

Examples of ineligible specified work:

• ship/boat building
• performing specialised social science services (such as anthropological and archaeological assessments) for mining companies
• town planning or architecture
• working as a nanny on a farm
• working at a cellar door providing wine tastings
• manufacturing materials used on a construction site (such as concrete or steel)
• cooking/catering on a mine site
• cleaning the interior of mine complexes or buildings.

Specified work in disaster affected areas

Construction work can be vital in helping regional disaster zones, such as those affected by flood or bushfire, to rebuild and recover from disaster.
Working Holiday visa holders who conduct construction work in eligible regional areas of Australia following disasters can count the work as specified work.

Examples of construction work that qualify as specified work include:

• demolition of buildings, trench digging, land clearing and earth moving
• residential and non-residential construction or renovation/repair, including of roads, footpaths, bridges, parking lots, fencing, railways, dams, irrigation systems, sewage and storm water drainage systems.

A full list of eligible construction activities is available from the Australia Bureau of Statistics website.

How to find specified work

You can find specified work vacancies in the same way you would find other job vacancies, such as through employment pages in newspapers, the Internet and job placement service providers. Vacancies specifically for plant and animal cultivation can be found on the Harvest Trail website.
Note: Not all vacancies advertised on the Harvest Trail website will qualify as specified work or give you eligibility for a second Working Holiday visa.

Applicants should ensure that the vacancy meets the definition of specified work listed above and that the work will take place in an eligible postcode of regional Australia.  See the section on 'Regional Areas' below to check the postcode list of designated regional areas.

How to calculate specified work

Three months

'Three months' of specified work means a period equivalent to three 'calendar' months, which is taken to be a minimum period of 88 calendar days, including weekends or equivalent rest days during your period of employment.

To meet the three months specified work requirement you must actually work for the same number of days that a full-time employee would normally work in a three month (88 calendar day) period.   You can do this in a variety of ways, for example:

• working five days a week for a continuous period of three calendar months, including on a piecework rate agreement; or
• working less than five days a week over a period longer than three calendar months, including on a piecework rate agreement;
• working multiple short periods of work in any combination of full time, part time or piecework rate, which add up to the equivalent of five days a week over three calendar months.

You do not need to do your three months' specified work all in one go, or all with one employer. You are free to spread the work over the period of your stay in Australia. You can also work for longer than the required minimum of three months.

You cannot complete your specified work requirement in a total period less than three calendar months.

Example - Karsten – full time continuous work:

Karsten works full-time for a construction company in rural Victoria as a builder from 1 December to 26 February, a total of 88 calendar days.  Karsten works five days a week (Monday to Friday) for this whole period of time and is paid the correct legal wage.  Karsten has met the three month specified work requirement.

Example - Minako – separate periods of full time and part time work:

Job number one – Minako works 5 days a week in a fruit orchard picking and packing fruit under a signed piecework rate agreement from 1 March to 30 April.  This period counts as two calendar months (in this case 61 calendar days) towards the specified work requirement.

Job number two – Later, Minako does casual work picking vegetables at a market garden for five days a fortnight from 1 October to 30 November. During this period of two calendar months (in this case is 61 calendar days) she has worked half of the usual full time work hours for this employer.  This period can therefore count as a total of one month (or 30 days) towards the specified work requirement.

Minako adds these two work periods together, counting:
Two months (61 calendar days) for the period of full time work
plus
One month (30 calendar days) for the period of part time work of two months
totals
Three months (which in in this case is more than 88 calendar days) of specified work

Minako has therefore worked the equivalent of three months of full time work and has met the three month specified work requirement.

Example – Does not meet three months of Specified work

Kim works two days a week at a vineyard maintaining vines and picking grapes from 1 February to 30 April.  The vineyard work is eligible specified work and he is paid the correct lawful wage.  The work has occurred over a three month period; however, he has not worked the equivalent number of days that would be worked by a full time worker in a three month period. He will need to work a proportionately longer period of part time work to meet the specified work requirement.

Kim has not worked the equivalent of three months' full time specified work and does not meet the requirement.

Hours of work per day

You should agree with your employer the number of working hours, before you start work.

One single day of work is considered to be the normal number of hours per day (or per shift) that is considered standard practice in the industry and role in which you are employed.

Note: If you are working on a piecework rate the number of hours can depend on the weather and ripening of crops.

Note: If you are working on an Award you should check your conditions of employment, including rostering, overtime, and penalty rates.

You cannot count a long day of work as more than one day of specified work. For example, if the industry's standard day is five hours long, working a 10 hour day does not count as two days of specified work.

Example: Maria works on a dairy farm milking and other duties. Maria makes an agreement with her employer to work five days a week (Wednesday to Sunday) from 4am to 7am and 1pm to 4pm each working day (a total of six working hours per day) for three months.  These hours are considered normal for this role and Maria is paid the correct legal wage.  Maria can count every day of work towards the three month specified work requirement, which she meets.

Example: Jian works on a fruit orchard picking and packing mangoes. Jian is working on a piecework rate and works five or six days a week for three months.  Depending on the weather and ripening of crops he works between five to eight hours each working day. Jian can count all of these days of work towards the three month specified work requirement, which he meets.

Example: Sophia works on a cattle station as a jillaroo and farm hand. Sophia works five or six days a week for three months. She works between five to nine hours each working day (including meal breaks). These hours are considered normal in this industry and role and she has been paid the correct legal wage. Sophia has met the three month specified work requirement.

Australian public holidays and sick days

Australian public holidays and sick days (or equivalent workers compensation leave days) can be counted as a day of specified work if you are paid for that day.  Public Holiday or leave days which are not paid cannot be included in your specified work total.

Note: If you are working on an Award you should check your conditions of employment including leave and public holiday entitlements.

Severe or seasonal weather

You cannot include any unpaid days where you did not work due to severe or seasonal weather towards your total period of three months of specified work. 

You should plan to complete your specified work early in your stay, as no exception will be made for failure to complete the three months specified work because of severe weather – or any other reason.

Example: Petra was contracted to work 5 days a week under a piecework rate agreement on a sugar-cane farm doing harvest work from 1 June to 27 August – a period of 88 calendar days.  However, she could not work for a total of 5 scheduled working days due to severe weather, and she was not paid for these 5 days. Petra later completed an additional 5 working days with another employer from 1 to 5 September, also under a piece work agreement. She has now completed the equivalent of three months (88 calendar days) of full time work and has met the three month specified work requirement.

Shift work

Variable shift work arrangements which are standard practice in the industry can be counted towards specified work.  For example, if your full time paid employment contract involves two weeks rostered on for every day and then two weeks rostered off as rest days, provided this is standard practice in the industry, and you are paid for this whole period, then all four weeks (28 days) can be counted towards the three month work requirement. Be sure to keep a copy of your employment contract.

Evidence of specified work

If you apply for a second Working Holiday visa, you will need to provide evidence that you have satisfied the specified work eligibility requirement, including that you have been paid in accordance with relevant Australian laws and awards.  Acceptable evidence of specified work (completed while on your first Working Holiday visa) can include copies of the following:

• pay slip or other evidence of payment for specified work  (these must be supplied for all specified work)
• a written and signed piecework rate agreement setting out the pay rate per piece and how it is measured
• Record My Hours app exported PDF timesheet. The timesheet cannot replace pay slips or piecework rate agreements.
• group certificate
• payment summary
• employer reference
• Australian bank statement covering the period of declared specified work as evidence of salary payments
• a written and signed agreement setting out any lawful deductions in pay
• a completed Form 1263 Working Holiday visa: Employment verification (75KB PDF) (This form is optional and does not need to be signed by the employer. However, it is a useful way for you to keep track of your specified work, and will assist in the processing of your application)

Note: Providing appropriate evidence will allow a Working Holiday visa application to be assessed more quickly. Ensure that all information provided is correct. It is usual practice for the department to contact third parties to verify the claims of applicants for second Working Holiday visas.

Providing a false or misleading declaration or fraudulent evidence for any visa application can result in your application being refused or any visa granted being later cancelled. If your visa is cancelled, you might be prevented from lodging further applications and be excluded from Australia for a period of three years.

Regional areas

Including family in your application

• You cannot include a dependent child on your application for a Working Holiday visa (subclass 417).
• A dependent child cannot accompany you at any time while you are in Australia.
• Your partner can accompany you to Australia, but they will need to apply for their own visa.

How to apply

This information explains what you need to do to apply for a Working Holiday visa (subclass 417).

Prepare your documents

Lodge your application

You can apply for this visa online:

• First Working Holiday visa: Application for a Working Holiday visa
• Second Working Holiday visa (outside Australia): Application for a Working Holiday visa
• Second Working Holiday visa (in Australia): Application for a Working Holiday visa.
  

You must provide all relevant documents and pay the visa application charge by credit card when you apply.

You should provide an email address that we can use to communicate with you about your application.

Applicants with dependent children

You cannot apply online if you are the parent of a child under the age of 18.  If you have a minor child, you must contact the Department for alternative instructions on how to lodge an application. See Working Holiday Maker Application Enquiry Form.

More information

There is more information to help you prepare your application, such as certifying and translating documents into English, communicating with us, using a migration agent, authorising another person to receive information from us, and receiving assistance with your application.

After you have applied

You can track and manage your application using ImmiAccount.

Wait for a decision

Provide more information

You can provide more information to us, at any time until a decision is made on the application. If you want to correct information you provided, use:

• Form 1023 Notification of incorrect answer(s) (99 kB pdf).

We could also ask you for more information. You will have to respond by a set date. After that date, we can make a decision about your application using the information that we have.

You might be able to provide additional information, including Form 1023, using ImmiAccount.

If another person gives us information that could result in you being refused a visa, we will usually give you the opportunity to comment on the information.

You might also be interviewed. If you are asked to attend an interview in person, bring your passport or other identification and any requested documents to the interview.

Report changes in your circumstances

You must tell us if your circumstances change. This includes a new residential address, a new passport, or a pregnancy, birth, divorce, separation, marriage, de facto relationship or death in your family.

You can use the following forms:

• Form 929 Change of address and/or passport details (86 kB pdf) — if you move to a new address or change your passport
• Form 1022 Notification of changes in circumstances (77 kB pdf) — if there are other changes in your circumstances.

You might be able to update your address and passport details using ImmiAccount.

If you do not provide us with the details of any new passport issued to you, you could experience significant delays at the airport and may be denied permission to board your plane.

Withdrawing your application

You can withdraw the application by advising us in writing at any time before we make a decision about your application. To do this, you must send us a letter or email requesting the withdrawal, or complete Form 1446 Withdrawal of a visa application. Your request must include your full name, date of birth, date of application, and file reference number/transaction reference number (if known).

Visa decision

If the visa is granted, we will let you know:

• when you can use the visa
• the visa grant number
• any conditions attached to the visa.

You will not have a visa label placed in your passport.

If the visa is not granted, we will let you know:

• why the visa was refused
• your review rights (if any).
• the time limit for lodging an appeal (if applicable).

Document checklist

You must provide documents to support your application for this visa.

Use the Working Holiday visa (subclass 417) document checklist to make sure your application is complete.

This information is for people who have already been granted a Working Holiday visa (subclass 417). It explains your rights and obligations.

How long your visa lasts

First Working Holiday visa

With this visa, you can:

• enter Australia within 12 months from the date your visa is granted (this cannot be extended or deferred)
• stay in Australia for up to 12 months from the date you first enter Australia
• leave and re-enter Australia any number of times while the visa is valid.

Second Working Holiday visa

If you are already in Australia on a Working Holiday visa and have been granted a second Working Holiday visa, you can:

• stay in Australia for up to 24 months from the date you entered Australia on your first Working Holiday visa
• leave and re-enter Australia any number of times while the visa is valid.

If you are in Australia but do not hold a current Working Holiday visa, you can:

• stay in Australia for 12 months from the date your second Working Holiday visa is granted.
• leave and re-enter Australia any number of times while the visa is valid.

If you are outside Australia, you can:

• travel to Australia at any time in the 12 months from the date your second Working Holiday visa is granted (this cannot be extended or deferred)
• stay in Australia for 12 months from the date you first enter Australia on your second Working Holiday visa.
• leave and re-enter Australia any number of times while the visa is valid.

When the 12-month stay period on your Working Holiday visa starts

If you are offshore, the 12-month stay period on your Working Holiday visa will start when you enter Australia. This period will start even if you enter Australia:

• as a transit passenger
• on an Electronic Travel Authority (ETA)
• on a Crew Travel Authority (CTA)
• on a Maritime Crew Visa (MCV).

Once the stay period on your Working Holiday visa starts, it cannot be delayed or deferred.

If you hold a Working Holiday visa on which the stay period has not started and want to enter Australia on another visa, you should:

• ask us to cancel your Working Holiday visa before you travel to Australia (you might be eligible to reapply for another Working Holiday visa at a later stage)
• after you have confirmation that your Working Holiday visa has been cancelled, apply for another visa.

This will allow you to avoid accidentally using your Working Holiday visa.

To cancel your Working Holiday visa, contact us through the:

• Working Holiday Maker application enquiry form.

If you want to cancel your Working Holiday visa to claim superannuation, refer to Accessing superannuation benefits—Former temporary residents.

Extending your stay

The Working Holiday visa (subclass 417) lets you stay in Australia for 12 months. Any time spent outside Australia after the 12-month stay period on your visa has started does not extend the length of the visa. You can only apply for another visa to extend your stay if your visa is not granted with a 'no further stay' condition. You will be advised of this in your visa grant letter.

Visa holders without this condition can apply for a second Working Holiday visa. -You should contact your nearest immigration office to discuss your options.

What this visa lets you do

This visa allows you to:

• stay in Australia for up to 12 months
• work in Australia, generally for up to six months with each employer
• study for up to four months
• leave and re-enter Australia any number of times while the visa is valid.

Superannuation

Australia has a compulsory superannuation scheme. You are entitled to access your retirement savings (superannuation) when you leave Australia. Accessing superannuation benefits—Former temporary residents has more information.

Tax Obligations

See the Australian Taxation Office website for information about your tax obligations.

Your obligations

You must comply with all visa conditions and Australian laws. You cannot be accompanied by your dependent children at any time during your stay.

Working in Australia

If you hold a Working Holiday (subclass 417) or Work and Holiday (subclass 462) visa, the main purpose of your visit must be for an extended holiday. You can do any kind of work over the course of your 12 month stay in Australia, however the conditions of your visa limit you to a maximum period of six months work with any one employer, unless you’ve been given permission by the Department of Home Affairs to work longer.

See: Working in Australia – six months with one employer

Study

You can study in Australia for up to four months. Four months means 17 weeks of actual study.

Holidays and orientation periods do not count. However, weekends, public holidays and non-teaching periods prior to exam period are counted.

Report changes in circumstances

Tell us if your circumstances change. This includes a new residential address, a new passport, or a pregnancy, birth or death in your family.

You can use the following forms:

• Form 929 Change of address and/or passport details (86 kB pdf) — if you move to a new address or change your passport
• Form 1022 Notification of changes in circumstances (77 kB pdf) — if there are other changes in your circumstances.

You might be able to update your address and passport details using ImmiAccount.