Twelve months to work,travel and decide,and up to three visasif you do the days.
The subclass 417 and 462 let people aged 18 to 30, and up to 35 for some passports, spend twelve months in Australia working and travelling. A first visa costs $840. Three months of specified work earns a second year, six months on the second earns a third. The rules that trip people up are the six-month limit with one employer and what counts as specified work.
Government charges, subclasses 417 and 462
- First Working Holiday visa, subclass 417apply from outside Australia$840
- First Work and Holiday visa, subclass 462apply from outside Australia$840
- Second 417after three months of specified work on the first$1,000
- Third 417after six months of specified work on the second$1,000
- Second and third 462same specified work rules, northern and regional Australia$1,000
As at 1 July 2026. No dependants can be included, and dependent children cannot accompany you for any part of the stay. Our professional fee is fixed and quoted in writing.
A twelve-month work and travel visa for 18 to 30 year olds, renewable twice with specified work.
The subclass 417 Working Holiday visa and subclass 462 Work and Holiday visa let citizens of partner countries aged 18 to 30, or up to 35 for some passports, live, work and travel in Australia for twelve months. The first visa charge is $840, work is limited to six months with any one employer unless an exemption applies, and three months of specified work in regional Australia qualifies most holders for a second year.
Verified as at 1 July 2026 against the Department of Home Affairs subclass 417 and 462 pages and Schedule 2 of the Migration Regulations 1994.
Do I qualify? A 30-second check
Answer the questions to see where you stand.
A guide only, not legal advice. The consultation is where the real answer comes from.
Two visas, one program, different passports and different extras.
Your passport decides which subclass you apply for. The 462 adds an education requirement, an English requirement and, for most countries, an annual cap.
Employers hiring working holiday makers
- 01
Subclass 417 Working Holiday
For passports including the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Estonia, Cyprus, Malta, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong. No cap for most countries and no education requirement.
- 02
Subclass 462 Work and Holiday
For passports including the United States, China, India, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Turkey, Spain, Portugal, Poland, Peru, Uruguay, Israel, Singapore and several others. Most have an annual cap, need functional English and tertiary study, and some need a home government letter. Some, including China, Vietnam and India, use a ballot before you can apply.
- 03
The age rule
You must be 18 to 30 when you apply. The upper limit is 35 for Canada, Denmark, France, Ireland, Italy and the United Kingdom. Age counts at lodgement, not at grant, so an application lodged the day before a birthday is fine.
- 04
What both allow
Twelve months in Australia from first entry. Any kind of work, in any industry. Study or training for up to four months. Leaving and returning as often as you like while the visa is valid.
- 05
What neither allows
Dependent children with you at any time. More than six months with one employer without an exemption or permission. Lodging a first visa from inside Australia. Being outside the age range on the day you apply.
First visa from outside Australia, then work the days for the second and third.
The first visa is the easy one. The second and third depend on evidence collected while you are here, and gaps in that evidence are the usual reason they fail.
First visa
Apply from outside Australia for $840. You must be outside Australia when it is granted. Enter within twelve months of grant; your twelve-month stay runs from the day you arrive. Health checks apply for some countries and some work, and funds evidence is required.
Specified work for the second
Three months, counted as 88 days, of specified work during the first visa. For the 417 that means listed industries in regional Australia; for the 462 it means listed industries in northern and regional Australia. Keep payslips, contracts and employer details. British passport holders have been exempt since 1 July 2024.
Second visa
Apply from inside or outside Australia for $1,000. Onshore applicants receive a bridging visa if the first visa runs out before the decision. Another twelve months, and the six-month employer count restarts.
Third visa
Six months of specified work during the second visa earns a third, for $1,000. The same industries and postcodes apply. This is the last working holiday visa available.
After the working holiday
Many holders move to a 482 with a sponsor, a partner visa or a student visa. The working holiday visas do not normally carry condition 8503, so onshore applications are possible. Start the next visa well before the twelve months end.
Six months with one employer, and the exemptions that matter.
Condition 8547 limits working holiday makers to six months with any one employer. The exemptions are specific, and both the worker and the employer carry the risk of getting them wrong.
Hiring working holiday makers- 01
The rule
Six months with the same employer in total, whether full-time, part-time or casual. The count restarts when a second or third visa is granted. A different business in the same group counts as a different employer only if it is genuinely separate.
- 02
Exemptions without permission
Plant and animal cultivation anywhere in Australia. Work in northern Australia in listed industries such as aged care, disability care, agriculture, fishing, construction, mining, tourism and hospitality. Natural disaster recovery work. Work at different locations for the same employer where no single location exceeds six months.
- 03
Permission to work longer
Where no exemption fits, you can ask the Department for permission to stay with the employer beyond six months. It is granted in limited circumstances, so ask before the six months run out, not after.
- 04
What a breach costs
Working past six months without an exemption or permission is a breach of condition 8547. It can lead to cancellation, and it will be seen on any later application, including a 482 nomination by the same employer.
- 05
For employers
No sponsorship is needed to hire a working holiday maker. Check the visa and conditions in VEVO, pay award rates, register as an employer of working holiday makers with the tax office, and give the payslips that specified work evidence depends on.
What counts, and where, for a second or third visa.
Specified work is defined by industry and by postcode. Volunteering does not count unless it is disaster recovery work. The work must be paid in line with Australian law.
| Industry | Subclass 417 | Subclass 462 |
|---|---|---|
| Plant and animal cultivation, including fruit picking, packing and farm work | Regional Australia | Northern and regional Australia |
| Fishing and pearling | Regional Australia | Northern and regional Australia |
| Tree farming and felling | Regional Australia | Northern and regional Australia |
| Mining | Regional Australia | Northern and regional Australia |
| Construction | Regional Australia | Northern and regional Australia |
| Tourism and hospitality | Northern, remote and very remote areas only | Northern, remote and very remote areas only |
| Bushfire recovery work | Declared bushfire-affected areas | Declared bushfire-affected areas |
| Flood and other natural disaster recovery work | Declared disaster-affected areas | Declared disaster-affected areas |
Regional and northern Australia are defined by postcode lists published by the Department. Check the postcode of the actual worksite, not the employer's head office. Keep payslips, bank records and employer contact details for every day claimed.
What one, two or three working holiday visas cost.
Government charges only. Health examinations, insurance, funds evidence and our fixed professional fee are additional.
As at 1 July 2026. The 462 charges are the same: $840 for a first visa, $1,000 for a second and $1,000 for a third. Each visa is a separate application.
Working holiday visas, answered plainly.
How old can I be to get a working holiday visa?
You must be 18 to 30 when you lodge. The limit rises to 35 for citizens of Canada, Denmark, France, Ireland, Italy and the United Kingdom. What matters is your age on the day the application is lodged, not the day it is granted.
Can I bring my partner or children on a working holiday visa?
No one can be included as a dependant. A partner who is eligible applies for their own working holiday visa. Dependent children cannot accompany you at any time during the visa, and having one with you is a ground for refusal or cancellation.
What counts as specified work for a second or third visa?
Paid work in listed industries in the listed postcodes: farm work, fishing, tree farming, mining and construction in regional Australia, tourism and hospitality in northern and remote areas, and declared disaster recovery work. Three months, counted as 88 days, for the second visa and six months for the third. Keep every payslip.
Do British citizens need to do specified work?
No. Since 1 July 2024, United Kingdom passport holders can be granted a second and third 417 without specified work, and can apply up to age 35. The six-month employer rule and all other conditions still apply.
Can I work for one employer for more than six months?
Only under an exemption, such as agricultural work anywhere in Australia, listed work in northern Australia or disaster recovery work, or with written permission from the Department. Otherwise condition 8547 applies and a breach can lead to cancellation.
Can I move from a working holiday visa to a 482 or a partner visa?
Yes, and many people do. A 482 needs an employer willing to sponsor you, with a visa charge of $4,015. A partner visa needs a genuine relationship with an Australian and costs $11,710. Both can be lodged from inside Australia because the working holiday visas do not normally carry condition 8503.
What if my second or third visa is refused?
If you applied from inside Australia, most refusals can be reviewed at the Administrative Review Tribunal for $3,727 within strict time limits. Refusals of applications lodged from outside Australia generally have no review right. The usual cause is specified work evidence, so fix that first.
Where this visa connects.
- 482Open
Skills in Demand visa
The sponsored route when an employer wants to keep you.
- PartnerOpen
Partner visa
When the working holiday becomes a relationship in Australia.
- 500Open
Student visa
Study with work rights after the working holiday ends.
- EmployersOpen
Hiring working holiday makers
Checks, pay and the six-month rule for Melbourne businesses.
Second visa, third visa, or the visa after the working holiday?
One consultation checks your specified work evidence, the six-month rule and the next visa, with a fixed fee quoted in writing.