Amendments relating to the Working Holiday Maker visa program
1 November 2005 - Legislation change
Client summary
The Working Holiday Program gives young people a once in a lifetime opportunity to have an extended holiday in Australia and supplement their funds through incidental work, and to experience closer contact with a local community. The aim of the program is to provide a forum for the strengthening of cultural ties by ensuring young Australians are offered similar opportunities through working holidays overseas.
On 1 November 2005, the Working Holiday visa will be expanded to allow working holiday makers who have done three months seasonal work in regional Australia to apply for a second Working Holiday visa. This change has been developed in consultation with Australian government agencies including the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations, the Department of Industry, Tourism and Resources, the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, and other stakeholders including the National Farmers Federation.
The expansion of the Working Holiday visa program will provide an incentive to working holiday makers to work in the harvest industry which is experiencing severe labour shortages.
Technical details
The Working Holiday visa will confer only temporary residence in Australia.
Working holiday makers who have undertaken three months of seasonal work in regional Australia are eligible to apply. There is no time limit on applying for a second Working Holiday visa; however, all applicants must demonstrate that they meet the requirements for a second Working Holiday visa.
These requirements include that the applicant must:
- be aged between 18-30;
- have no dependents;
- be a citizen of one of the countries with which Australia has a reciprocal working holiday arrangement; and
- seek to enter or remain in Australia as a genuine visitor whose principal purpose is to holiday in Australia.
In addition, applicants for a second Working Holiday visa must provide evidence of their three months of seasonal work. This can be in the form of payslips, group certificates, tax returns, employer references, or form 1263 Working Holiday: Employment Verification.
As the Working Holiday visa is intended to encourage people to holiday and travel, work for more than three months with any one employer is not allowed. Study or training is permitted for no more than three months. The three month work limitation is not retrospective and working holiday makers on a second Working Holiday visa may return to work for former employers.
The work need not be paid work. Work undertaken as a volunteer, payment in kind, or through schemes such as Willing Workers On Organic Farms, may be counted toward the three months of seasonal work. This work will still need to be documented using form 1263, or a letter from the employer detailing the work undertaken by the working holiday maker.
An application for a second Working Holiday visa may be lodged from in or outside Australia. All applicants for a second Working Holiday visa may apply over the internet and from any country.
If the applicant is outside of Australia when the second Working Holiday visa is granted, the visa will allow them to make their first entry to Australia up to 12 months from the date that the visa was granted, and then to stay in, leave and re-enter Australia on multiple occasions during the 12 months from first entry.
If the applicant is in Australia as the holder of a Working Holiday visa when the second Working Holiday visa is granted, the visa will allow the holder to remain in, leave and re-enter Australia for a total period of 24 months from the date that they first entered Australia as the holder of a Working Holiday visa.
If the applicant is in Australia and is not the holder of a current Working Holiday visa, the visa will allow them to remain in, leave and re-enter Australia for 12 months from the date that the visa is granted.
Additional information: The critical criterion that must be satisfied by applicants for a second Working Holiday visa is that they have done at least three months of seasonal work in regional Australia while on their first Working Holiday visa.
Transitional arrangements: The new Regulations apply to an application for a visa made on or after 1 November 2005.
Forms: Applicants for a second working holiday visa will use form 1150 or 1150E (Internet). Applications using form 1150 should also have supporting evidence of seasonal work attached.
Instructions: PAM3 PAM3 Policy Guidelines will be amended to reflect these changes.
Effect on delegations: Nil.
Effect on systems: Applications will be processed at the Hobart Global Processing Centre. ICSE is being updated to process these applications.