The Working Holiday visa (subclass 417) is a 12-month visa for people aged between 18 and 30 who wish not only to travel Australia, but also to work during their stay. This visa, which was introduced to promote cultural exchange between Australia and participating countries and to strengthen Australia’s international relations, is generally granted only once in a lifetime. Under certain conditions, however, a second Working Holiday visa is possible.
This section outlines everything you need to know about the requirements and application process for a second Working Holiday visa (subclass 417) – from formal requirements and conditions to the required documents and evidence, as well as costly mistakes that should be avoided.
Formal requirements for a second Working Holiday visa
To apply for a so-called second year Working Holiday visa, you must meet the following requirements:
- Compliance with all conditions and obligations of your first Working Holiday visa
- A valid passport from one of the countries eligible for the visa
- No more than one Australian Working Holiday visa held in the past
- Employment in approved types of work (so-called “specified work”) for at least three months in regional Australia during your first Work & Travel stay (see below for more information)
- The application must be lodged before your 31st birthday (the relevant date is the date of application, not the date the visa is granted)
What is “specified work” and why is it required?
A key requirement for being granted a second year Working Holiday visa is that, during your first Working Holiday visa, you must have worked for at least three months in approved types of work (“specified work”) in regional Australia.
But what does that actually mean?
To meet this requirement, several aspects must be taken into account, such as the industries you can work in, the types of activities you must perform, and which areas are classified as “regional Australia”.
Industries in which specified work can be undertaken include agriculture and forestry, fishing and pearling, mining, and construction.
Eligible activities are clearly defined and include, for example, farm work, harvesting work on fruit and vegetable farms, tree felling in plantations, drilling work in mines, or assembly and installation work in the construction industry.
“Regional Australia” refers to rural and regional areas of Australia. To qualify for a second year of Work & Travel, your specified work must be carried out in one of these regional areas. These include the Northern Territory, South Australia, Tasmania, as well as certain postcode areas in the other Australian states.
Further information on specified work and a list of all areas classified as regional Australia can be found on our information page about the second Working Holiday visa.
How are the 88 days calculated?
To be eligible for a second Working Holiday visa, you must have completed at least three months – more precisely, 88 days – of full-time work at industry standard level in one of the approved activities described above.
It does not matter whether you complete your 88 days of approved work in one continuous period or with the same employer. You can split the work into several stages and across multiple employers. This gives you some flexibility and various options, such as:
working full time for three months
working part time over a longer period
working full time or part time in several shorter blocks
The key requirement is that, in total, you complete 88 days at full-time equivalent level. Part-time work must be converted to a full-time equivalent.
Can weekends, public holidays or sick days count?
As a general rule, days that are not paid by the employer cannot be included in the calculation of the 88 days. It is therefore important to pay close attention to what is stated in your employment contract and to the industry-standard conditions.
For example, if you have an employment contract as a worker on a dairy farm stating that you are employed full-time for three months under industry-standard conditions, you may count weekends, public holidays and sick days, as you are paid by your employer during this time.
If, on the other hand, you have a casual job as a fruit picker and are paid by output rather than by days worked, you may only count the days on which you actually worked. Sick days, days off, or days when the weather was too poor to harvest are not paid by the employer and therefore cannot be counted.
When in doubt, it is advisable to add a few extra days to be on the safe side and avoid the risk of having your second Working Holiday visa refused.
How many hours per day do I need to work?
A full-time working day generally consists of 7–8 hours, but this may vary depending on the industry. For your work to be recognised as approved full-time work, you must work at least the same number of hours per day as is standard in the relevant industry. Long working days and overtime cannot be counted as additional days.
Do I have to work for payment, or is voluntary work also possible?
If you completed your specified work after 1 December 2015, it must be paid work at an appropriate rate (i.e. at least the industry-standard minimum wage) and must be supported by payslips or other wage evidence. If, however, you completed this work before 1 December 2015, voluntary work may also be counted.
Why should I do this kind of work at all?
Apart from the fact that it allows you to spend another year on Work & Travel in Australia, this type of work – whether farm work or any other approved activity – also offers additional benefits. It is a great opportunity to learn something new, work alongside Australians and earn good money at the same time. The minimum wage is currently A$18.29 per hour.
Official documents required for a second Working Holiday visa
If you wish to apply for a second year visa, you must have certain documents and evidence available and be able to present them if requested, to prove that you meet the requirements described above. To avoid problems and delays, you should ensure that everything is prepared before submitting your application.
In addition to the documents already required for your first Working Holiday visa, you will need evidence of your three months of specified work, for example in the form of payslips. Optionally, you may also provide a completed Employment Verification Form 1263. Make sure that these documents are issued by your employer.
Be careful when it comes to employment evidence
In almost all online forums about Australia where people discuss Working Holiday visas, you will find posts from individuals claiming that they received their second Working Holiday visa without having done a single day of farm work, or only a fraction of it. Some claim to have paid their employers to falsify employment records. Others proudly state that they simply made things up or lied about how much they actually worked. Many even advise others to use documents from friends or other backpackers and submit them with their own application.
This practice is strongly discouraged. If you are caught by the Australian authorities, the consequences can be severe. Possible penalties include:
Cancellation of the visa
Removal from Australia
The imposition of a multi-year exclusion period (during which no Australian visa applications can be lodged)
A negative visa history (visa cancellations must be disclosed in all future visa applications, not only for Australia)
Criminal prosecution
In the meantime, this type of fraud has become a focus of the Australian authorities. The Department of Home Affairs has established a task force specifically dealing with Working Holiday visa fraud, which checks whether applicants genuinely meet the requirements, whether all information provided is truthful and plausible, and whether applications comply with Australian migration law.
Applicants for a second year Working Holiday visa should be aware of this and should not be tempted to provide false information. This is not a minor offence, but straightforward fraud. The potential consequences are serious and far-reaching and are simply not worth the risk.
