work AND HOLIDAY VISA 462 

YOUR ULTIMATE GUIDE!

What are the requirements to apply for this visa?

1.Passport: Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Chile, China, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Greece, Hungary, Indonesia, Israel, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mongolia, Peru, Poland, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, Uruguay, United States of America, Vietnam. You must be a citizen of one of these countries to be able to apply for a Work and Holiday visa 462.

2.Age: 18-30 years. The visa can be requested by those who have already turned 30 but not yet 31.

3.English: You must have a functional level of English. Functional means that you need to reach an average band score of at least 4.5, based on the 4 components of the IELTS test (or an equivalent score if you try other tests like PTE). You are exempt from the test if:

• you are from United Kingdom, USA, Canada, New Zealand or Republic of Ireland

• you are citizen of Israel and have successfully completed an English Bagrut exam in the level of 3 study units

• you have completed relevant education in English. 

More info about the English requirement here

4.Education: you must have a proper level of education. 

If you are from:

• Argentina, Austria, China, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Greece, Hungary, Indonesia, Luxembourg, Peru, Poland, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, Uruguay, Vietnam

You must: have a tertiary qualification or have completed 2 years of undergraduate university study

• Brazil 

you must have completed at least 2 years of post- secondary education.

• Chile

You must: have tertiary qualifications or have completed or been approved to do a third year of undergraduate university study

• Israel

You must: hold a Senior Secondary Certificate of Education and have either completed military service or be legally exempt from military service

• Malaysia

You must: have a tertiary qualification or have completed 2 years of undergraduate university study

• Thailand

You must: have a tertiary qualification

• Switzerland

You must: have completed two (2) years of study following compulsory schooling

• United States of America

You must: have a Senior Secondary Certificate of Education or equivalent.

5.Letter of support: you need a letter of support from your government if you are from Ecuador, Greece, Indonesia, Luxembourg, Malaysia (you need a Good Conduct Certificate), Mongolia, Peru, Poland, San Marino, Slovenia, Thailand, Turkey.

6.Funds: You need to prove that you have enough money to support yourself initially and the estimated amount is around $5,000.

7.Not to be accompanied by partners and/or children: the Work and Holiday is a 'single' visa. If you have a partner, you will need to apply for two separate visas; if you have a dependent minor child, you will need to explore other visa solutions.

8.Location: You must be outside Australia to apply for your first W&H.

How can I get a Work and Holiday visa?

You can apply for it through the website of the Australian Department of Immigration (Home Affairs). More info here.

You will need to create an 'ImmiAccount' from where you can prepare and submit your application.

At the end of your application, you need to attach your passport, a bank statement (to prove that you have access to $ 5,000), your education qualifications, your result of the English test, your letter of support from the government of your Country (if required).

Approval times vary; usually, the first Work and Holiday is approved fairly quickly. However, times could be longer if immigration needs further documentation: for example, health examinations may be required before deciding on a visa.

The visa has been approved: what are the next steps?

From the date of approval, you have one year to travel to Australia and activate your visa. From the moment of its activation, the visa will be valid for 12 months.

Example:  approval date is 01/10/2022. From this date you will have one year, until 01/10/2023, to enter Australia and activate it.

Date of arrival in Australia: 01/01/2023. The visa will be valid for 12 months, until 01/01/2024.

What are the benefits of the Work and Holiday visa?

Work: you can work full-time, and in any sector you want! However, unless exceptions apply, you will not be able to work for more than 6 months with the same employer.

To renew the visa, however, it will be necessary to carry out work in specific sectors and areas of Australia (see 'Work and Holiday visa renewal').

Study: You can study for up to 4 months (17 weeks). This is great, for example, if you don't speak English and want to enroll in a language course: you can study with qualified mother tongue teachers and make new friends!

Travel: with a Work and Holiday visa you can travel around Australia and discover the wonders of the country. Sydney, Melbourne or Perth, you choose where to live your Australian experience!

Work and Holiday visa renewal: how does it work?

The Work and Holiday visa has a duration of 12 months and can be renewable with a second and third visa. To renew the visa, specific works must be carried out in rural Australian areas (regional / remote areas).

Sectors

The activities valid to renew the visa are: plants and animal cultivation activities (the famous ‘Australian farms’, to be done in Northern Australia and other specified areas of regional Australia’), fishing (northern Australia only), construction (northern Australia and other specified areas of regional Australia), tree farming and felling (northern Australia only), hospitality and tourism (Northern Australia and in remote/ very remote areas).

Furthermore:

- from July 2019, works carried out in the areas affected by fires, to facilitate the reconstruction of these areas, are considered useful for the purpose of renewing the visa.

- -from January 2020, works carried out in the medical-health sector to face the Covid-19 emergency are considered useful for the purpose of renewing the visa.

- from January 2022, works carried out in the areas affected by floods, to facilitate the reconstruction of these areas, are considered useful for the purpose of renewing the visa.

Postal codes

To renew the visa, it is necessary to carry out these specific jobs in rural and / or remote areas of Australia (and / or in areas affected by fires or floods).

It is a good idea to always check the postal code of the relevant area, to make sure it falls within the valid codes.

Find the list of codes here

Duration

• To renew the visa and apply for the second Work and Holiday, it is necessary to work for at least 3 months (or 88 calendar days) during the first year of the work and holiday.

• To renew the visa and apply for the third Work and Holiday, you must work for at least 6 months (or 179 calendar days), during the second year of the working holiday (or during the 'bridging visa' period between the first and second W&H).

How to count the days

To complete the 88 or 179 days, you can:

- Work 5 days a week for a continuous period of 3 months (or 6 months). Example: July / August / September (3 continuous months)

- Work less than 5 days a week, for a period exceeding 3 months (or 6 months), thus accumulating 88 days (or 179)

- Work for a series of periods (part-time / full-time) which add up to 3 months (or 6 months).

How to calculate the work day?

The working day is calculated on a full-time basis and the duration may vary depending on the sector (e.g. agriculture) and its 'industry award'. Usually, however, a full working day is approximately 7/8 hours.

• If you work 5 full days a week, it is generally possible to calculate the whole week (= 7 days)

• If in a week you work for 21 hours, considering a complete day of 7 hours, the calculation will be = 21 hours: 7 hours (working day) = 3 days worked for that week.

Note: if the full working day, in your sector, is equivalent to 6 hours but you work 12 hours per day, the 12 hours will still be counted as one day and not two.

The calculation is simpler when you work 'by the hour'; different, and more complicated, is the 'bin' or 'piece rate' work, that is, based on the amount the employee has picked, packed, pruned, or made.

In this case, it will be particularly important to consider the weekly pay you have received and whether it meets the minimum (hourly) wage set by the reference industry.

Example: The minimum wage in Australia currently is $ 882.8 / week (or 23.23$/hour).

- If the payslip is $ 900, i.e. equal to / higher than the minimum, the whole week will be considered valid.

- If the pay is lower, it will be necessary to calculate how many days can be considered valid. 

A $ 350 / week payslip is equivalent to 15.06 hours worked ($ 350 : $ 23.23 / hourly minimum wage). 15.06 hours, if a full-time working day is 7 to 8 hours, it is equivalent to 2 working days.

Warning: in the given example, a $350 payslip that shows more than 17.5 hours means you have been underpaid. For example, if you have been paid $350/week and you worked 26 hours, it means that you have been paid $13.46 per hour.

Working below the minimum wage may lead to the refusal of the renewal request.

Tip: always ask for a written contract before starting work, which should contain all the fundamental details including the industry award. Having a contract is particularly important if you have worked on a piece rate basis, to facilitate the correct calculation of your working days.

I completed my specified work days: how to renew the visa?

Once you meet the specific work requirements, you can apply for a second (or third) Work and Holiday.

You will need to attach to your application all the payslips, bank statements, your employment contract (if any) and your passport.

Important: to renew the visa it is necessary to be within the age limit (18-30). If you complete your specific work days but are already 31 years old you will not be able to proceed with the renewal.

You can renew your visa from both inside and outside Australia.

Onshore: If you are in Australia, the second (or third) year will start from the end of the first W&H (or second). Any period in bridging visa waiting for a decision on your visa, will be counted towards the visa itself.

Example: 1st Work and Holiday until 01/03/2023.

If you renew from within Australia, once your visa has expired you go on a 'bridging visa' until your 2nd W&H is decided. The visa is then approved on 1/06/2023: its 12 months will not start from this date but from 02/03/2023, i.e., from the day after the expiry of the previous work and holiday.

Offshore: if you are applying for a visa renewal from outside Australia, the same rule as for the first W&H applies. You have 12 months to enter Australia and, once here, the 12 months of effective validity of the visa will begin.

Working in Australia: useful information

To work in Australia, you will need a Tax File Number (TFN), a unique identification number.

If you want to work as self-employed, you will also need an ABN (Australian Business Number).

Taxation: Since January 2017, Work and Holiday visa holders are taxed 15% from the first dollar earned, up to $ 45,000. From $ 45001 to $ 120,000, the taxation will be 32.5% and so on, following a threshold system.

Superannuation: i.e., the pension fund. Once the visa has expired and you left the country, it will be possible to redeem your superannuation; however, it will be taxed at 65%.

Visit our guide “Moving to Australia: easy guide” to find out more about TFN, ABN, Superannuation and much more.

FAQ

- I applied for the W&H visa but in the meantime, I turned 31: what will happen?

If you turn 31 while waiting for a decision on your visa, the visa can still be approved (and then, you can enter the country and benefit from your year in WH). What matters is that you apply before turning 31.

- I don't have a bank account and / or I don't have access to $ 5000: what can I do?

You can attach to your application the bank statement of a family member. In this case, we suggest you also attach an identification document and a short declaration, in English, where you explain the relationship with the person and declare that s/he is supporting you.

- I have received a request for further information: what should I do?

If immigration needs further information and documents, you are required to submit them (according to the procedure and timing that will be provided to you), otherwise the visa might be refused.

- Immigration requires medical examinations: why?

Immigration has the right to request whatever it deems necessary to decide on a visa. The most common reasons for requesting medical examinations are having declared health problems or having visited countries deemed 'at risk' from a health point of view.

- Is it mandatory to do specific work in Australian regional and remote areas?

If you do not want to renew your work and holiday visa (or if you have exceeded the maximum age for the renewal) you do not have to do these jobs.

- I have not completed 88 days (or 179): what can I do to renew my visa?

Completing 88 days (or 179) is a requirement for the renewal.

We advise you not to 'try the trick' (immigration controls!) and to look for other visa solutions to stay in Australia.

- Can I stay after my visa expires?

No. The visa expiration date must be respected, or you immediately become unlawful.

There are no 'grace periods': for example, if your visa expires on 31/3/2023, from 1/4/2023 you will be in Australia illegally. If you stay without a valid visa for more than 28 days, you also risk a ban from Australia for 3 years.

- I heard about the bridging visa E to stay in Australia longer: how does it work?

To apply for a BVE you must already be illegal; the BVE, once granted, will allow you to stay in Australia temporarily until, for example, you have done what is necessary to leave the country. 

The BVE DOES NOT cancel your previous illegality status, which will remain in your background as a stain. Also, if you want to stay in Australia longer and you hold a BVE, your visa options will be severely limited.

If your visa is about to expire, we advise you to apply for another one BEFORE it expires and not to resort to a BVE afterwards.