Obligations

This page outlines the obligations applicable to Work and Holiday (subclass 462) visa holders.

Visa conditions

You must comply with all your visa conditions while in Australia on a Work and Holiday visa. In addition to the work and study limitations, additional visa conditions may be imposed on your Work and Holiday visa. These will be specified in your visa grant notice. A breach of any of these conditions may result in your visa being cancelled and you may have to leave Australia.

Health insurance

You must maintain health insurance for the duration of your Work and Holiday visa. Failure to do so may result in cancellation of your visa.

Studying

While in Australia on a Work and Holiday visa, you must not study or train for more than four months. If you want to study for longer than four months, you should apply for a student visa from outside Australia.

Working

While in Australia on a Work and Holiday visa, you must not be employed with any one employer for more than six months.

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

You are allowed to work with each employer for up to six months and cannot work for longer than six months in the same position, in the same location, doing the same work. The six month work limitation applies to full-time, part-time, casual or shift work.

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.

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

More information is available on finding work, licensing or registering arrangements and employer obligations.
See: Information on Choosing to Working in Australia

Applying for further visas

You will not be able to apply for further visas while in Australia other than a second or third Work and Holiday visa. Once your third Work and Holiday visa expires you must depart Australia before you can apply for further visas.

Extending the work period

In exceptional circumstances, it may be possible to extend the period of work with one employer to longer than six months. An extension may be allowed for a very short period of time and only if there is sufficient justification to grant it.

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

Exceptional circumstances might include remaining in your current job:

• for a very short time (days or weeks) 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.

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

• have the required skills or because of labour shortages
• 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 (103KB Word file)

If you obtain a new passport

If you intend to obtain a new passport you should do so before applying for your Work and Holiday visa.

Your visa is linked to the passport number you used in your application and you must use the same passport to travel to and from Australia.

If you obtain a new passport after applying for your Work and Holiday visa you must advise the department of the new details before your Work and Holiday visa is granted.