Work & Holiday Visas

Depending on your country of passport, you may be eligible for a temporary visa which allows you to holiday and work in Australia for up to a year.

There are two different types, depending on your country of passport:

1. Working Holiday visa (subclass 417)

2. Work and Holiday visa (subclass 462)

You might be able to get this visa if you:

• are at least 18 but have not turned 31 years of age at the time you lodge your application
• will not be with a dependent child while you are in Australia
• have enough money to support yourself on a working holiday (about AUD 5000)
• have enough money to buy a return or onward travel ticket at the end of your stay
• meet character and health requirements
• are a genuine visitor.

Additional requirements for the subclass 462 visa

• meet educational requirements
• have functional English
• have a letter of support from your government (except applicants from the USA)

Educational Requirements

If you are from the United States of America, you must hold a secondary school (high school) qualification.

If you are from Argentina, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Turkey, Malaysia, Poland, Portugal, Spain or Uruguay, you must hold a tertiary qualification or have satisfactorily completed at least two years of undergraduate university study.

If you are from Chile, you must hold a tertiary qualification or have satisfactorily completed or have been approved to do a third year of undergraduate university study.

If you are from Thailand, you must hold a specified eligible diploma or degree qualification.

Functional English

You must provide evidence that you have at least functional English. This can be:

• evidence you are a citizen of and hold a valid passport issued by the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Canada, New Zealand, or the Republic of Ireland
• an International English Language Testing System (IELTS) average band score of at least 4.5 for the four test components (speaking, reading, listening and writing) no more than two years ago
• a Test Of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) score of 133 on a computer-based test, 450 on a paper-based test or 45-46 on an internet-based test, no more than two years ago
• the Occupational English Test (OET) no more than two years ago
• a Test of English as a Foreign Language internet-Based Test (TOEFL iBT) total band score of at least 32 for the four test components of speaking, reading, writing and listening no more than two years ago
• a Pearson Test of English Academic (PTE Academic) overall band score of at least 30 for the four test components of speaking, reading, writing and listening no more than two years ago
• all years of primary education and at least three years of secondary school at an institution where all the instruction was in English
• at least five years of secondary education (high school) at an educational institution in which all instruction was in English
• a post-secondary qualification with at least two years of full-time study, in which all tuition was in English
• at least one year of full-time study or equivalent towards a degree, higher degree, diploma or associate diploma at an Australian institution where all the instruction was in English.

Letter of government support

If you are a Malaysian citizen you need to provide a Malaysian Good Conduct Certificate, which can only be applied for online by selecting the ‘e-Consular’ link on the Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs website.