What is correct? Applying for an Australian Working Holiday Visa!
I was granted my Australian third-year working holiday visa today! 🥳 There is a lot of misinformation spreading about working holiday visas, including incorrect details. To ensure you don't waste your time based on misconceptions, I would like to write about it here, including information provided by the Australian government and my own personal experience. 🫡
First, to apply for a second-year visa, you must work for 88 days in a designated region and industry. To apply for a third-year visa, you need to work for 179 days.
[Definition of 88 days and 179 days]
This refers to the minimum number of days you must work when applying for a second or third-year visa.
・Why 88 days? ... A period equivalent to the three shortest calendar months in a year, which is at least 88 calendar days.
・Why 179 days? ... A period equivalent to the three shortest calendar months in a year, which is at least 88 calendar days.
❓🤔 Everyone's Question #1
I think the question is whether you just need to work 88 or 179 days, or if working 5 days a week can be counted as 7 days. According to the government website,"Weekends and regular days off during the employment period are included"So, even if you work 5 days a week and have 2 days off, it can be counted as 7 days.
⚠️ Caution here ⚠️
The government provides examples of when conditions are met
and when they are not! Here they are ↓
[In the case of Marko 🧑🏼🦱]
During his first working holiday visa,
Marko worked as a full-time tour guide for a tour company from December 1st to February 26th. 🇦🇺
This period totals 88 calendar days.
During this period, Marko worked 5 days a week, from Monday to Friday, and was paid the appropriate legal wage.
➡ Marko has met the 3-month specified work requirement.
[In the case of Kim 👦🏻]
During his first working holiday visa,
Kim worked at a vineyard from February 1st to April 30th, managing and harvesting grapevines. 🍇
This work qualifies as specified work, and he was paid the appropriate legal wage.
However, Kim only worked 2 days a week.
Therefore, although the period he worked was 3 months, it does not equal the number of days a full-time worker would work in 3 months.
Consequently, to meet the specified work requirement, he needs to work for a longer period to make up for the shortfall in part-time hours.
➡ Kim has not completed the equivalent of 3 months of specified work and has not met the requirement.
That is what it says. According to the government's explanation, the standard for full-time work seems to be 5 days a week. If you are working less than that, I think it is better to work for a longer period.
❓🤔 Everyone's Question #2
How many hours do I need to work?
The Australian government website does not provide an explanation regarding the number of hours. Instead, it states,"It must be equivalent to the number of days or shifts that a full-time employee in that occupation or industry would normally work"The reason it is stated this way is because daily working hours differ by industry. I think it is best to ask the owner or supervisor at your workplace for the standard hours a full-time employee works in a day and use that as a guide. When I applied for my second-year visa, I submitted 16 payslips. If you work 5 days a week, 13 payslips are enough, but since there were weeks where I didn't reach 5 days, I applied with 16 payslips, which is 3 weeks extra.
❓🤔 Everyone's Question #3
I want to apply for both a second and third-year visa, so can I work 88 days + 179 days (9 months) in my first year and apply? The answer to this is NO. The government website says this:
Period (conditions) during which specified work must be performed
In principle, specified work must be completed while holding the previous Working Holiday Maker (WHM) visa.
・Those applying for a second WHM visa must have completed all specified work during their first WHM visa.
・Those applying for a third WHM visa must have completed all specified work during their second WHM visa.
In other words, if you want to apply for a second visa, you must complete the specified work during your first-year visa, and if you want to apply for a third visa, you must complete the specified work during your second-year visa.
❓🤔 Everyone's Question ④
Can work done while on a bridging visa be counted?
This was exactly my situation, so I will explain it using my own case.
My first-year visa started in October 2024, and I began farm work in June 2025.
June–September 2025: Completed specified work and applied for the second visa.
October 2025: First-year visa expired.
November 2025: Bridging visa began.
December 2026: Second visa was granted.
In this case, the work I did from November 2025, when the bridging visa started, until December, when the second visa was granted, can be counted toward my third visa application!
Since the timing of starting specified work and the duration between applying and receiving approval (the bridging visa period) varies from person to person, I think just knowing this will help you avoid wasting time.
When I was doing seasonal work, many people had questions about visa applications, and I was one of them. I hope this will be even a little bit helpful to those who will be applying for a visa from now on!
If you found this helpful or liked it, please give it a like 👍! 🤗