Some welcomed news for working holiday travelers wishing to visit Australia to work and holiday. Applicants must be no more than 35 years of age at the time of application.

A Subclass 417 Working holiday visa is a temporary visa for young people who want to holiday and work in Australia for up to a year. It is a temporary visa that encourages cultural exchange and closer ties between Australia and eligible countries.  Once in Australia, an individual is able to apply for a second working holiday visa assuming they meet the requirement of having completed work in regional area.

Currently the following list of countries are eligible for subclass 417 working holiday visa:

• Belgium
• Canada
• Republic of Cyprus
• Denmark
• Estonia
• Finland
• France
• Germany
• Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China (including British National Overseas passport holders)
• Republic of Ireland
• Italy
• Japan
• Republic of Korea
• Malta
• Netherlands
• Norway
• Sweden
• Taiwan
• United Kingdom.

A subclass 462 Work and Holiday shadows the 417 visa. Extension of this visa is also possible in some circumstances.

Currently the following list of countries are eligible for subclass 462 working holiday visa:

• Argentina
• Bangladesh
• Chile
• China, People’s Republic of
• Hungary
• Indonesia
• Israel
• Luxembourg
• Malaysia
• Poland
• Portugal
• San Marino
• Slovak Republic
• Slovenia
• Spain
• Thailand
• Turkey
• USA
• Uruguay
• Vietnam

Age limit will change only if this is met:

• Schedule 9 – Change to age limits for Working Holiday Maker Visas

The eligible age for Subclass 417 Working Holiday will be amended to be:

• aged at least 18 and no more than 35 years old. If an age younger than 35 is specified in an instrument for a specified passport, that younger age limit will be applied

Subclass 462 Work and Holiday visas:

• the increase to the age limit of 35 years is only available for those countries where Australia has negotiated a similar bilateral age increase.

These amendments apply to visa applications made on or after 1 July 2017.