Work and holiday visa for Australia

With this visa you can

• do short-term work in Australia to help pay for your holiday
• study for up to 4 months
• travel to and from Australia as many times as you want
• do 3 months of specified subclass 462 work to become eligible for a second Work and Holiday visa

Work

You can do any kind of work on this visa.

Usually, you can only work for the same employer for 6 months If the main purpose of your stay is to work, consider a work visa.

Study

You can study for up to 4 months (17 weeks).

If the main purpose of your stay is to study, consider a Student visa.

How long you can stay

This is a temporary visa. You must enter Australia within 12 months of the date we grant it. We will not extend or defer this timeframe.

The visa becomes active on the date you enter Australia. Once you have entered and the visa is activated, you can:

• stay in Australia for up to 12 months
• leave and re-enter Australia as many times as you like in that 12 months

You have another visa

This visa starts on the date you enter or transit through Australia even if you hold any other temporary visa including:

• a Special Purpose visa
• an Electronic Travel Authority
• a Crew Travel Authority
• a Maritime Crew visa

Ask us to cancel your Work and Holiday visa before you travel to Australia if:

• you want to enter Australia on another visa, or
• you do not want your Work and Holiday visa to start

We will not refund your application fee if you ask us to cancel your visa.

Stay longer

You can't stay in Australia longer by extending this visa.

You could apply for a second Work and Holiday visa if you are eligible.

Stay longer on a visitor visa

The total time we let you stay in Australia on your first Work and Holiday visa and then a visitor visa is 12 months.

We might grant you longer on a Visitor visa if:

• you apply for a visitor visa from outside Australia or
• there are exceptional circumstances

For this visa, exceptional circumstances might be that a close family member in Australia has died or is seriously ill and you need to stay.

If you have another visa

The Work and Holiday visa starts on the date you enter Australia even if you are transiting through Australia or also have a valid:

• Electronic Travel Authority
• Crew Travel Authority
• Maritime Crew visa

Ask us to cancel your Work and Holiday visa before you travel to Australia if:

• you want to enter Australia on another visa, or
• you do not want your Work and Holiday visa to start

Include family

You can't include family members in your application.

You can't be accompanied by dependent children while you are in Australia on this visa.

Cost

AUD485

You might also have to pay for health checks, police certificates and biometrics.

Apply from

You must be outside Australia when you apply for this visa and when we decide your application.

Processing times

• 75% of applications in 84 days
• 90% of applications in 4 months

Your application might take longer to process if:

• you don't fill it in correctly
• you don't include all the documents we need or we need more information from you
• it takes us time to verify your information

Annual visa limit

Every program year we grant a limited number of first Work and Holiday visas to applicants from each eligible country except the United States of America. The program year begins on 1 July and ends on 30 June.

Once this annual limit or 'cap' is reached, we will not grant any more visas. You should wait until the new program year commences on the following 1 July to submit an application.