Working Holiday visas (417 and 462)

The 4-month study limit applies separately to each visa held, workplace-based training counts as employment rather than study, and online or correspondence courses that could be taken outside Australia or are provided by an overseas education provider are not limited.

A country cap can be open, paused or closed; a paused cap may reopen within the same program year, while a closed cap is not reopened until the next program year.

The ballot does not change the annual grant caps for China, India and Vietnam, and eligible registrants are considered for random selection.

A subclass 417 or 462 visa granted before 20 March 2020 and in effect on that date is an offshore COVID-19 affected visa if its holder, outside Australia, applied for a 417 or 462 visa between 1 July 2021 and 31 December 2022; for holders in Australia the application window was 5 March 2022 to 31 December 2022.

Australian-resident working holiday makers from a country with a non-discrimination article in its tax treaty may be taxed on the same basis as a resident Australian national.

Everyone working in Australia, working holiday makers included, has the same workplace rights under the National Employment Standards, backed by the national minimum wage.

In the six months to 31 December 2025 (the first half of program year 2025-26), Home Affairs recorded 165,782 working holiday maker visa grants, including 83,493 first, 31,622 second and 18,377 third subclass 417 visas and 18,255 first, 8,163 second and 5,870 third subclass 462 visas.

Working Holiday Makers in Australia may work in any occupation or industry, subject to the six-month limit with one employer unless an exemption or written permission applies.

Home Affairs says the number of Working Holiday Makers is at a record level, so it is normalising processing timeframes for most WHM applications.

When checking that an applicant has not held more than 2 subclass 417 visas (or more than 2 subclass 462 visas) in Australia, a COVID-19 affected visa is not counted.

To get a second subclass 417 visa, the applicant must have done at least 3 months of specified subclass 417 work on the first visa, paid in line with Australian law and awards and not for an excluded employer.

To get a third subclass 417 visa, the applicant must have done at least 6 months of specified subclass 417 work, all of it while holding the second visa (or a bridging visa based on the second-visa application) and on or after 1 July 2019, paid in line with Australian law and not for an excluded employer.

To get a second subclass 462 visa, the applicant must have done at least 3 months of specified subclass 462 work as the holder of the first visa (after 18 November 2016), paid in line with Australian law and not for an excluded employer.

To get a third subclass 462 visa, the applicant must have done at least 6 months of specified subclass 462 work, all of it while holding the second visa (or a related bridging visa) and on or after 1 July 2019.

Passport holders of the United Kingdom (British Citizen or British National (Overseas)) who apply on or after 1 July 2024 do not need to meet the specified work requirement for a second or third subclass 417 visa.

Clause 417.221(5) lets a written instrument set a maximum number of subclass 417 visas that may be granted per financial year.

A first-time subclass 462 applicant must satisfy the department that they have at least functional English.

A first-time subclass 462 applicant must hold the educational qualification set for their passport country in the instrument, which ranges from secondary school (United States) or secondary plus military service or exemption (Israel) to two years of university study or tertiary qualifications for most countries.

A first-time subclass 462 applicant must, unless exempt, provide evidence of their government support for the visa; the exempt class covers 19 countries, so letters of support are still needed for Ecuador, Greece, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mongolia, Peru, the Philippines, Poland, San Marino, Slovenia, Thailand and Turkey.

A subclass 417 applicant must be a genuine holiday visitor with enough money for the onward fare and personal support, a reasonable prospect of finding employment, and no dependent children travelling with them.

A subclass 462 applicant must be a genuine holiday visitor with enough money for the onward fare and personal support, and may not be accompanied by dependent children unless in a class the Minister specifies.

Applicants must pass the character test or otherwise satisfy public interest criterion 4001 about character.

Applicants must meet the health requirement in public interest criterion 4005: free from tuberculosis and from any disease that threatens public health, and not likely to cause significant health or community care costs, and must undergo any medical assessment requested.

Applicants must not have outstanding debts to the Commonwealth unless payment arrangements are in place (criterion 4004), must have signed the Australian values statement (4019), and must not have given false or bogus documents or information (4020).

A subclass 462 applicant who applied for a permanent-residence visa in the previous 5 years (or who fits a class the Minister specifies) must satisfy the department that there is very little likelihood they will remain after their authorised stay (criterion 4011).

A subclass 417 applicant who has previously been in Australia must also satisfy special return criteria 5001 and 5002; for subclass 462 these apply when the applicant applied from outside Australia and has been in Australia before.

A Foreign Affairs student or Foreign Affairs recipient is not eligible for subclass 462, and for subclass 417 needs the support of the Foreign Minister (a requirement the Minister may waive in compelling or compassionate circumstances).

At decision stage a subclass 417 applicant must convince the Minister that they intend to comply with the conditions attached to the visa.

At decision stage a subclass 462 applicant must convince the Minister that they intend to comply with the conditions attached to the visa.

Someone who is or has been in Australia on a subclass 417 visa must have substantially complied with the conditions of every visa they held, and cannot hold more than two 417 visas.

A subclass 417 applicant already in Australia does not need a current eligible passport at application if the passport they entered with expired after arrival.

A subclass 462 applicant already in Australia does not need a current eligible passport at application if the passport they entered with expired after arrival.

At decision stage a first-time subclass 462 applicant must still hold the eligible passport they applied with, or a valid replacement passport from the same country.

A subclass 417 applicant who is not, and has not previously been, in Australia as a 417 holder must be outside Australia at the time the visa is granted.

A subclass 462 applicant who was outside Australia when applying must also be outside Australia when the visa is granted.

A second or third subclass 417 application must come with a declaration of the required specified 417 work: at least 3 months for the second visa, at least 6 months (all on or after 1 July 2019, under the second visa) for the third.

A second or third subclass 462 application must come with a declaration of the required specified 462 work: at least 3 months for the second visa, at least 6 months (all on or after 1 July 2019, under the second visa) for the third.

The 2026 Subclass 462 arrangements instrument sets a younger maximum age of 30 for every one of the 31 listed countries, so in practice the maximum age for 462 applicants is 30.

A subclass 417 applicant must not have held more than two subclass 417 visas in Australia, counting any held when the decision is made, so the third visa is the final one (COVID-19 affected visas are not counted).

A subclass 462 applicant must not have held more than two subclass 462 visas in Australia, counting any held when the decision is made, so the third visa is the final one (COVID-19 affected visas are not counted).

Each program year there is a cap on the number of first subclass 462 visas for certain countries, but there are no caps for second or third subclass 462 visas.

Current annual caps on first subclass 462 visas include Argentina, Chile and Spain 3,400 each; China 5,000; Indonesia 5,000; Israel and Singapore 2,500 each; Thailand 2,000; Peru, Poland, Uruguay and Vietnam 1,500 each; Malaysia 1,100; India and Slovakia 1,000 each; and smaller caps of 100 to 500 for the other capped partners.

Sources disagree: The Home Affairs report of 31 December 2025 (and 30 June 2025) lists Indonesia at 4,612 and Uruguay at 200; the 12 October 2026 caps page lists Indonesia 5,000 and Uruguay 1,500 (Uruguay increase from 1 July 2026 is also in the latest news).

A registered employer withholds a flat 15% on the first AUD 45,000 paid to a working holiday maker in an income year; the 2026-27 rates then rise to 30% up to AUD 135,000, 37% up to AUD 190,000 and 45% above that.

The DASP withholding rate for working holiday makers is 65% on the taxable component (taxed and untaxed elements) and nil on the tax-free component, against 35% and 45% on the taxable elements for other visa holders; the 65% rate is applied to the part of the payment that comes from super contributions made while holding a working holiday visa.

The 31 December 2025 Home Affairs program report shows no cap figure (N/A) for any of the 19 subclass 417 arrangements; cap figures in that report are places per program year for subclass 462 only.

Condition 8547 stops the holder working for any one employer for more than 6 months without the Secretary prior written permission.

Condition 8548 stops the holder doing any studies or training in Australia for more than 4 months.

The average processing time for most WHM visa applications is expected to be around three months as the department normalises processing timeframes.

A subclass 417 visa granted in Australia to someone who did not hold a 417 visa when applying lets them stay until 12 months after the date of grant.

A subclass 462 visa granted in Australia to someone who did not hold a 462 visa when applying lets them stay until 12 months after the date of grant.

The base visa application charge for a first-time subclass 462 applicant is AUD 840, AUD 690 for a holder of a Pacific-regional country passport, and AUD 1,000 for other applicants such as those seeking a second or third visa.

COVID-19 affected visa holders who applied for a new 417 or 462 visa under the temporary nil-charge arrangement of 2022 paid no visa application charge, unless they were already granted, refused or awaiting a nil-charge decision.

Applicants with Chinese, Indian or Vietnamese passports who have not held a 462 visa must be selected in a visa pre-application process (ballot) under section 46C of the Migration Act before they can apply for a first 462 visa.

Subclass 417 applications are made online with Form 1150 (Internet); if the department emails a written notice, Form 1150 can be emailed within 7 calendar days of that notice.

Subclass 462 applications are made online with Form 1208 (Internet); if the department emails a written notice, Form 1208 can be emailed within 7 calendar days of that notice.

Employers must register with the ATO as an employer of working holiday makers in order to withhold tax at the special working holiday maker rate.

Working holiday makers are entitled to superannuation from their employer and can claim it back as a Departing Australia superannuation payment (DASP) when they leave Australia.

Home Affairs advises applicants to wait until the visa is granted before booking flights or making travel, work or study commitments.

Clean-up and recovery work in areas affected by flood, cyclone or other severe weather counts as specified subclass 417 work if done after 31 December 2021 in the listed areas.

Critical COVID-19 work in healthcare and medical sectors anywhere in Australia counts as specified subclass 417 work if done after 31 January 2020.

Specified subclass 462 work in Northern Australia includes fishing and pearling and tree farming and felling, while plant and animal cultivation and construction count in both Northern Australia and Regional Australia; mining is not on the 462 list.

Tourism and hospitality work, bushfire recovery work, flood/cyclone/severe weather recovery work and critical COVID-19 healthcare work are also kinds of specified subclass 462 work, each limited to set areas and to work done after a set date.

The six-month limit under condition 8547 does not need a permission request for work in different locations (no more than 6 months in any one location), plant and animal cultivation anywhere in Australia, critical sectors anywhere in Australia, certain industries in Northern Australia, and natural disaster recovery work.

The Pacific-regional countries, whose passport holders qualify for the reduced AUD 690 base application charge for the Work and Holiday visa, are the Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Marshall Islands, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

The countries specified for the pre-application ballot under the 2024 instrument are China, India and Vietnam.

At decision stage a subclass 417 applicant must satisfy public interest criteria 4001, 4002, 4003, 4004, 4005, 4010, 4013, 4014, 4019 and 4020.

At decision stage a subclass 462 applicant must satisfy public interest criteria 4001, 4002, 4003, 4004, 4005, 4011, 4013, 4014, 4019 and 4020.

Any one or more of conditions 8106, 8107, 8301, 8303, 8501, 8502, 8503, 8516, 8522, 8525 and 8526 may be imposed on a subclass 417 visa on top of the two mandatory ones.

The previous exemption process for condition 8547 (the 6-month limit with one employer), which the Minister decided to continue, began on 1 January 2024 and continues while consultation on the Working Holiday program settings and reform is underway.

From 1 July 2026 a lower visa cost applies to eligible Papua New Guinea passport holders who lodge a valid first Work and Holiday (subclass 462) visa application.

From 1 July 2026, up to 1,500 first subclass 462 visas are available each program year to eligible Uruguay passport holders.

Sources disagree: June 2025 Home Affairs report lists the Uruguay cap as 200.

A ballot will be introduced for first 462 applications from Indonesian passport holders, with registrations expected to open later in 2026, and holding an Indonesian Letter of Support does not give priority or reserve a place.

From 3 June 2026, Luxembourg passport holders no longer need to provide a Letter of Support with a Work and Holiday (subclass 462) visa application.

The changes made to the Migration Regulations by the Migration Amendment (Working Holiday Maker Age Criteria) Regulations 2026 apply only to visa applications made on or after the commencement of those changes.

Australia and the Philippines signed an MoU on 8 September 2023 for a 462 arrangement of up to 200 places a year each way, but Home Affairs has not yet announced a start date.

Sources disagree: Home Affairs news (2026-09-23) says the Philippines arrangement is still being prepared with no start date, but Schedule 1 of the 2026 subclass 462 arrangements instrument (F2026L00883, item 18) already lists the Philippines.

The pilot Work and Holiday arrangement with the Czech Republic has been extended, and Czech applicants apply online through ImmiAccount.

Special 417 arrangements for UK passport holders were put in place after the Australia-UK Free Trade Agreement entered into force on 31 May 2023.