Are you aware of changes to Australian working holiday visa?

The recent bushfires in Australia had affected many communities around the country. In order to help these communities to bounce back and encourage activity, the government introduced several schemes.

 

Among them was the introduction of a new initiative that allows Working Holiday Visa holders to account for any construction work and any paid or voluntary bush fire recovery work to extend their working holiday visas.

 

Before we can understand the implications of this ruling, here are a few details about the working holiday visa.

 

Working holiday visa:

The working holiday visa was introduced to allow foreigners between the age of 18 to 30 to visit the country for 12 months and involve in casual and short-term work so that the travelers have enough money to continue their holiday.

 

The visa holders can also study for up to four months and move in and out of the country till the visa is valid. Another facility in this visa is if the visa-holder is young enough and not near 31 years, they have the option to complete three months of specified work such as hospitality and tourism jobs, agricultural work and use the option to extend the visa for another 12 months.  A new option was introduced in 2018 that would allow applicants to extend the visa for another year if they have completed six months of the specified work in the second year and meet the age requirements.

 

With these additional features, the working holiday visa is a good option to explore Australia and meet the local people while earning money to meet their travel expenses.

 

Eligibility requirements:

Applicants will have to adhere to a certain character and health requirements and not have any dependents with you while on your holiday. They must have a passport from an eligible country or jurisdiction. Visa applicants cannot bring any dependent children with them. Applicants must not have entered Australia previously on a Subclass 417 or 462 visa.

 

 Specified work:

The specified work needed to extend the visa includes any construction work which includes rebuilding houses in the affected areas. Land clearing and other demolition work and involvement in any paid or voluntary recovery work in these areas will count as specified work. Under the new ruling, working holiday visa holders can now work for the same employers for one year instead of the earlier six months.