Working holidays in Australia

For passport holders who are part of Australia’s working holiday visa scheme, you can apply for a working holiday visa that allows you to work in Australia for up to 12 months – with the option to extend to a second and even a third visa for some nationalities. (See later FAQ).

Australia working holiday visas are broken down into two subclasses of visa – subclass 417 and subclass 462. Both allow you to work and travel in Australia. The visa we process for you will depend on your nationality.

For most nationalities, you must be aged 18-30 (inclusive) to apply for an Australia working holiday visa – which means you must apply before your 31st birthday. Unless you’re from the UK, Canada, France, Ireland, Denmark or Italy, in which case it’s 18-35 (inclusive) – which means you must apply before your 36th birthday.

You can call us or check the eligibility and age limit for your nationality here or here – depending on which subclass of working holiday visa your nationality is eligible for.

Once your visa is approved, you have 12 months to enter the country. Your visa is then valid to stay for one year – with extensions available for some passport holders.

From 1 July 2024, the regional work requirement was removed for UK passport holders - who can now apply for a second and third 12-month extension to their working holiday visa without having to show proof that they have completed specified or regional work. Find out more about the changes here.

For other passport holders, you may need to complete three months of 'specified work' in regional Australia to apply for a second or third visa. You can find out more about the extension requirements for your nationality here.

• Our 4-day option includes three nights’ hostel accommodation at the WakeUp! for Sydney departures, and The Village North Melbourne for Melbourne departures.

• Our 8-day option includes six nights’ hostel accommodation at the WakeUp! for Sydney departures, plus one night at a surf camp on the South Coast. Or six nights at The Village North Melbourne, plus one night at The Island YHA on Phillip Island for Melbourne departures.

Accommodation is in multi-share dorms – if you wish to upgrade to a twin (where available) get in touch. If you’re arriving early, you can book a maximum of three pre-nights and three post-nights – just let our team know.

The 4-day option starts on a Tuesday, is semi-guided, has a group size of 1-10, and is designed to set you up with the job support, travel advice, city tours and work essentials (such as your bank account and tax number set up) you need to kickstart your working holiday. Jump to the full inclusions and itinerary for more. The 8-day option starts every Sunday (plus every other Thursday between Sep-Jan), is fully guided, has a group size of up to 22 new friends, and includes all the work and city elements of the 4-day one. Plus, a 2-day group road trip, surf lessons, beach hangs, group barbeque dinners, and heaps more. Jump to the full inclusions and itinerary for more.

Please note that the 8-day one is not an extension of the 4-day one – it has different starts dates and a different group.

At JENZA, we love the security of arriving with a job lined up. However, unlike some of our other work abroad destinations like Canada, Japan and the USA that have defined summer or ski seasons where our employers are looking to secure seasonal staff months in advance – it’s a little different in Oz.

It’s a year-round destination. Therefore, it’s tricky for our hospitality employers (such as bars, restaurants and hotels) to know what positions they’ll have available a month or more in advance. Since the pandemic, they are preferring to hire staff who are in-country and ready to start immediately. This also works well for our travellers, as trust us, as soon as you get to Australia and meet a bunch of new people – guaranteed your plans will change! (There’s a reason why they call Sydney and Melbourne blackholes – travellers go in and never come out again).

If any of our Australia employers are looking to hire for positions in advance, they’ll be on our Job Hub – which you’ll have access to before you go. When you arrive in Sydney or Melbourne, you’ll have an employment session, CV support and 12 months’ access to a nationwide database to search and apply for jobs. Most people manage to secure a backpacker job within their first three weeks.