Specified work for Working Holiday (Subclass 417) and Work and Holiday (Subclass 462) visas

We often get questions about what the requirement to do ‘specified work’ for the grant of a 2nd or 3rd Working Holiday or Work and Holiday visa means, and about the repercussions of not undertaking any ‘specified work’ on your Working Holiday or Work and Holiday visa.

First of all, you do not need to undertake any of the above specified work if you do not intend to apply for another Subclass 417 or Subclass 462 visa to stay in Australia. As such, if you intend to apply for another visa before the expiration of your current Subclass 417 or Subclass 462 visa, or will be able to transition to another visa to continue staying in Australia lawfully upon the expiration of your current visa, you do not need to worry about completing any specified work.

However, if you want to be eligible for:

• a 2nd Subclass 417 or Subclass 462 visa - you must complete at least 3 months (88 days) of specified work on your 1st Subclass 417 or Subclass 462 visa.

• a 3rd Subclass 417 or Subclass 462 visa - you must complete at least 6 months (179 days) of specified work on your 1st Subclass 417 or Subclass 462 visa.

So what exactly is ‘specified work’? To meet the ‘specified work’ condition, you must have worked in one or more of the following industries and areas:

• tourism and hospitality in northern or remote and very remote Australia, from 22 June 2021, including -

  • tourist guides and operators

  • outdoor adventure or activity instructors

  • tourist transport services

  • gallery or museum managers, curators or guides

  • hospitality workers, such as in hotels or other accommodation facilities, restaurants, cafes, bars and casinos

  • conference and event organisers

• plant and animal cultivation in regional Australia

  • the harvesting and/or packing of fruit and vegetable crops

  • pruning and trimming vines and trees directly associated with the cultivation and commercial sale of plant produce, such as fruit and nut crops (commercial horticultural activities).
    Note: This must be your primary employment  task and general garden maintenance is not eligible.

  • general maintenance crop work

  • cultivating or propagating plants, fungi or their products or parts

  • immediate processing of plant products

  • maintaining animals for the purpose of selling them or their bodily produce, including natural increase
    Note: Maintaining animals for tourism or recreational purposes is not eligible.

  • immediate processing of animal products including shearing, butchery, packing and tanning

  • manufacturing dairy produce from raw material

• fishing and pearling in regional Australia

  • conducting operations relating directly to taking or catching fish and other aquatic species

  • conducting operations relating directly to taking or culturing pearls or pearl shell

• tree farming and felling in regional Australia

  • planting or tending trees in a plantation or forest that are intended to be felled

  • felling trees in a plantation or forest

  • transporting trees or parts of trees that were felled in a plantation or forest to the place where they are first to be milled or processed or from which they are to be transported to the place where they are to be milled or processed

• mining in regional Australia

  • coal mining

  • oil and gas extraction

  • metal ore mining

  • construction material mining

  • non-metallic mineral mining and quarrying

  • exploration

  • mining support services

• construction in regional Australia

  • residential building construction

  • non-residential building construction

  • heavy and civil engineering construction

  • land development and site preparation services

  • building structure services

  • building installation services

  • building completion services

  • other construction services

• bushfire recovery work in declared bushfire affected areas carried out after 31 July 2019

  • construction, farming, or any other work in association with recovery or restitution of land, property, farm animals or wildlife

  • support services or assistance to people living, working or volunteering in the affected areas

  • re-building fences destroyed in a bushfire affected community

  • caring for wildlife in a bushfire affected community

  • support work for volunteer organisations assisting victims of bushfires

  • demolition of buildings, trench digging, land clearing and earth moving

  • residential and non-residential construction or renovation/repair, including of roads, footpaths, bridges, parking lots, fencing, railways, dams, irrigation systems, sewage and storm water drainage systems

• recovery work in natural disaster affected areas carried out after 31 December 2021

  • general cleaning up, including wiping down items, moving and cleaning furniture and appliances, hosing out properties and outdoor areas or mopping floors and transportation of rubbish

  • demolition of buildings, trench digging, land clearing and earth moving

  • residential and non-residential construction or renovation/repair, including of roads, footpaths, bridges, parking lots, fencing, railways, dams, irrigation systems, sewage and storm water drainage systems

  • work for charitable organisations assisting flood affected communities, including administrative, technical, and coordination support

  • administrative support, including customer service and working in call centres providing flood recovery support

  • coordination support, including services for insurance companies and local, state and federal government organisations and community and evacuation centres

  • transport support, including delivering food, medications or other essential items to flood victims

  • caring for, transporting and managing affected animals and related equipment.

• critical COVID-19 work in the healthcare and medical sectors anywhere in Australia, after 31 January 2020

  • nursing care for COVID-19 cases in a hospital or quarantine facility

  • mental health support work for COVID-19 cases in a hospital or quarantine facility

  • research relating to COVID-19 vaccine or treatment

  • contact tracing for public health departments

  • cleaning at a COVID-19 testing centre or quarantine facility

To see how the minimum period of specified work (i.e. 3 months and 6 months) is calculated, whether this includes casual or part-time employment, and whether this would include weekends or rest days during your period of employment, please refer to our blog post on ‘How to calculate the period of specified work for Working Holiday Maker visas’.

To discuss your eligibility for a Working Holiday (Subclass 417) visa or a Work and Holiday (Subclass 462) visa, please contact info@inclusivemigration.com.au or book an appointment to speak to one of our lawyers today.