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Visas, Immigration and Refugees

New permission to work arrangements

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New permission to work arrangements for Protection visa applicants and all clients seeking ministerial intervention commence on 1 July 2009.

What's changing?

Permission to work will generally be made available to Protection visa applicants and clients seeking ministerial intervention who remain lawful, meet time limits and actively engage with the department to resolve their immigration status. This will replace the 45-day rule, which allowed only Protection visa applicants who lodged their application within 45 days of arriving in Australia to obtain permission to work.

Clients who wish to seek advice about their immigration status or assistance in making a visa application should contact the department.
See: Contact Us

Who is affected by this change?

The changes apply to:

  • clients who apply for a Protection visa from 1 July 2009
  • clients who make a request for ministerial intervention from 1 July 2009.

The changes also affect clients who do not currently have permission to work and who applied for a Protection visa before 1 July 2009 if they are waiting for a decision by the department or the Refugee Review Tribunal, in relation to that application.

Clients who made a Protection visa application before 1 July 2009 and already have permission to work because they applied within 45 days of arriving in Australia will keep their permission to work if they remain lawful and meet any time limits where they seek review of a decision.

Clients who have lodged a ministerial intervention request before 1 July 2009 that has not been finalised and who apply for a new bridging visa after 1 July in relation to that request, will keep the work conditions that applied to their previous bridging visa.

Am I eligible?

Under the new arrangements, whether a client is granted permission to work will depend on the Bridging visa they hold and the stage of processing their application has reached. Information on eligibility for different types of Bridging visa can be found in form 1024i.
See: Form 1024i Bridging Visas (65KB PDF file)

The new requirements reflect the expectation that clients will manage their circumstances so they remain lawful during their stay in Australia, which includes:

  • actively and genuinely pursuing the resolution of any claim they may have to remain in Australia
  • early and sustained engagement with the department throughout the immigration process
  • cooperating in departing from Australia where they have no legal right to remain.

Select the visa group you belong to for further information: