Second Year Working Holiday Visa

If you have already spent your first year in Australia on a Working Holiday visa, a second year lets you continue working and travelling for another 12 months.

Specified work requirement

To qualify, you must complete at least 3 months (88 days) of specified work in regional Australia while holding your first Working Holiday visa. The work must be in an eligible industry and postcode.

The 88 days do not need to be continuous. Most people build them up across a few employers and seasons. What matters is that every day you count was paid work, in an eligible industry, in an eligible location, during your first Working Holiday visa.

Common eligible industries

• Fruit picking and farm work
• Fishing and pearling
• Tree farming and felling
• Mining
• Construction
• Tourism and hospitality in certain northern and remote areas

Eligible postcodes and industry definitions are set by the Department of Home Affairs and are updated from time to time. Confirm the current list against the official guidance before you commit to a job, because a role that sounds agricultural is not always in an eligible postcode.

Evidence to keep as you go

This is where most second-year applications run into trouble. Start collecting evidence from your first day of regional work rather than trying to reconstruct it months later:

• Payslips for every period of specified work
• Bank statements showing the wages actually being paid to you
• Your employer's ABN and business details
• Written references confirming your dates, location and duties

The Department can contact employers directly to verify what you have claimed. Cash-in-hand arrangements with no payslips are the single most common reason people find they cannot prove their 88 days.

When to apply

Most applicants lodge the second-year application while still in Australia on their first Working Holiday visa, before it expires. You can also apply from outside Australia if you have already left.

You still need to be within the age limit when you apply. For Irish citizens that means applying up to and including age 35, the same extended age arrangement that applies to the first visa.

Going for a third year

A third Working Holiday year is available after you complete a further six months of specified work during your second year. The evidence standard is the same, so keep the same records for that second round of regional work.

How we can help

We review your work history, help confirm your specified work meets requirements, and prepare your second-year application.

You can apply directly yourself at any time through the Department of Home Affairs. Our service is for applicants who want their specified work evidence checked before lodgement.