Applicant Obligations

Visa conditions

You must comply with all your visa conditions while in Australia on a Working Holiday visa. In addition to the work and study limitations, additional visa conditions may be imposed on your first or second Working Holiday visa. A breach of any of these conditions may result in your visa being cancelled and you may have to leave Australia.

Studying

You must not study in Australia for longer than four months. If you study while on your first Working Holiday visa, you may return to the same institution if granted a second Working Holiday visa.

Four months is interpreted as 17 weeks of actual study excluding holidays and orientation period.

Working

You can do any kind of work in Australia and may work with the same employer for up to six months. However, work must be secondary to your main purpose of your visit. If your main purpose of travel is to find and engage in employment, you should apply for an Australian work visa.

The six month work limitation applies to full-time, part-time, casual and shift work.

Workplace-based training is considered to be work. You are able to undertake workplace-based training with the same employer for up to six months.

The 'employer' is the business for which you are working directly.

If you are referred by an agency or labour supplier to a business, you can work for six months for that business. The same agency or labour supplier can refer you to another business where you can work for another six months. For the purpose of the six month limitation, the 'employer' is considered to be the business for which you are working directly, even if you are being paid by an agency or labour supplier.

Working for longer than six months with the same organisation, regardless of whether the duties or location of the employee change, is generally not allowed. A Working Holiday visa holder may, work for independently owned franchises located in different areas for up to six months at each, as long as the franchisees are different employers with different Australian Business Numbers.

You cannot stay in the same job beyond six months by using different employment agencies, business affiliates or sub-contracting arrangements.

If you hold a second Working Holiday visa, you may return to work for a further six months for an employer with whom you worked on your first Working Holiday visa.

More information about working in Australia is available.
See: Information on choosing to work in Australia

Extending the work limitation

Requests to extend the employment period beyond six months are only granted in exceptional circumstances. An extension may be allowed for a very short period of time (less than one month) and only if there is very strong justification to grant it.

Exceptional circumstances must be extraordinary and unforeseeable, and relate to an Australian permanent resident, citizen or business.

Exceptional circumstances might include:

• Remaining in your current job for a very short time (less than one month) as you are critical to the completion of a specialised project that has unexpectedly gone over time. This generally only relates to highly skilled activities.
  Example: A lawyer in the middle of a trial.
• Remaining in your current job while a decision is being made on an application for a visa which would allow you to continue full time work with your employer without leaving Australia.
  Example: Subclass 457 – Temporary Business (Long Stay) visa, Subclass 820 – Spouse visa.
  Note: If you intend to apply for a work extension on the basis of such a visa application, you must lodge the visa application before submitting the work extension request. Please direct your request to the Immigration office that is processing your visa application.

Exceptional circumstances do not include remaining in your current job because you:

• have the required skills or because of labour shortages
• are required to complete a project in a job that is not highly skilled
  Example: retail or administration
• intend to apply for another visa that permits you to work but have not yet lodged the application with the department
• are not able to apply for another kind of visa.

Submit your completed form ’Request permission to work with an employer beyond six months on a Working Holiday or Work and Holiday visa’ to the department, at least two weeks before the expiry of the six month employment limitation.
See: Request Permission to Work with an Employer Beyond Six Months on a Working Holiday or Work and Holiday Visa (101KB Word file)

Note: You may be required to provide a letter of support from your employer.

Visa holders who work for more than six months with an employer without prior written permission from the department are in breach of their visa condition and their visa may be cancelled.