Working holiday makers

Since 21 November 2015 Working Holiday Maker visa holders (subclasses 417 and 462) can remain with the same employer for up to 12 months (compared to the previous 6 months) if they work in certain high demand industries in northern Australia. Given that 226,812 of these types of visas were granted in 2014-15, this may be of considerable advantage to many young working holiday makers currently in, or planning on coming to, Australia.

The industries which are considered to be high demand include Aged and Disability Care, Agriculture (eg plant and animal cultivation, fishing and pearling, tree farming and felling), Construction, Mining and Tourism and Hospitality. Further details of these industries and details of which areas in Queensland, Northern Territory and Western Australia constitute “northern Australia” can be found at : http://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Work/Empl/WHM-six-months-one-employer

Further changes are expected in 2016 to enable such visa holders to also extend their stay in Australia by a further 12 months if they work for at least 3 months in agriculture or tourism in northern Australia.