Working Holiday Visa Australia 🇦🇺 Guide: How to Travel and Work Down Under
Have you been pondering making a big move to Australia but it all seems too overwhelming? I’m here to help simplify the whole process and make sure you make the most of your Working Holiday Visa.
This post contains all of the important information you need to apply for your visa, get to Australia, find work and accommodation in Australia, travel in Australia, and information about extending your visa past one year.
Included in this guide:
Understanding Australia's Working Holiday Visa Requirements
Applying for your Visa
Booking your ticket to Australia
Your First Weeks in Australia
Finding a Job in Australia
Traveling in Australia
Finding Housing in Australia
88 Days and Extending your Visa
Understanding the Different Working Holiday Visa Options
Australia offers several Working Holiday Visa (WHV) options depending on your nationality. The most common ones include:
Working Holiday Visa (Subclass 417): Available to citizens from countries with reciprocal arrangements with Australia, allowing travelers aged 18-30 (or 18-35 for some nationalities) to work and travel in Australia for up to 12 months.
The nationalities for this visa include
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Canada, Belgium, Republic of Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hong Kong, Republic of Ireland, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Taiwan (other than an official or diplomatic passport)
Work and Holiday Visa (Subclass 462): Similar to the Subclass 417 visa but available to citizens from specific countries, encouraging cultural exchange and closer ties between Australia and partner countries.
The nationalities for this visa include
Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Chile, China, People's Republic of, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Greece, Hungary, Indonesia, Israel, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mongolia, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Poland, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, Türkiye, Uruguay, United States of America, Vietnam.
Make sure to check your eligibility and the specific requirements for each visa subclass before applying.
Applying for the Visa
Ok now that you know what visa you need to apply for lets go through the application process!
The application process for the Working Holiday Visa typically involves:
Eligibility Check: Ensure you meet the age, nationality, and other eligibility criteria specified for the visa subclass you're applying for.
Online Application: Lodge your visa application online through the official Australian Government website.
Documentation: Prepare necessary documents that include passport, proof of funds, educational degree (secondary school), and any other documents required.
Visa Grant: Once your application is approved, which can take anywhere between 5 minutes and 8 weeks, though usually on the shorter side, you'll receive a notification and your visa grant letter.
Booking Your Ticket to Australia
Once you have your visa approved, it's time to book your ticket to Australia. Consider factors such as flight costs, travel dates, and any stopovers. You can decide where you want to start you journey in Australia based on cheapest flights. Typically people start in Sydney or Melbourne as those are the largest airports.
Your First Weeks in Australia
Upon arrival in Australia, there are several essential tasks to tackle:
Airport Arrival: Navigate through immigration and customs procedures at the airport. When I arrived I didn’t speak to anyone or have any visas checked, but its possible that you will. Make sure you don’t have any fruits or prohibited products because they are very strict at customs here. So the snacks you packed for the journey? Make sure you finishe them on the plane and don’t bring any with you through customs. Truly I left packaged food because they are so strict. Especially don’t bring any fresh fruit or meat or cheeese.
Accommodation: Arrange temporary accommodation for your initial days in Australia. Options include hostels, Airbnb, or short-term rentals. Most Working Holiday makes stay in hostels to meet people and its the most economical option.
3. Bank Account: Open a bank account to manage your finances in Australia. Theres only a few options for banks in Australia, and you can just walk inn and open an account, you will need this to get paid in Australia.
4. Tax File Number (TFN): Apply for a TFN, which is essential for working in Australia. You can apply online through the Australian Taxation Office website.
5. SIM Card: Get an Australian SIM card for your phone to stay connected during your stay. Options include Optus, Telstra, and more. I’d just walk into a store and buy one, they aren’t that different.
Welcome to Australia Tour
But what if you want an easy hands-free way to arrive in Australia and have everything done for you? Then you should do what I did and book a Welcome to Travel tour.
When I planned my move to Australia, I had heard about a tour company called Welcome to Travel that run tours in Sydney and Melbourne to welcome backpackers to Australia and set them up for success. I though they seemed reasonable, so I booked a 10 day Welcome to Sydney tour and let them do a lot of the work for me. The tour not only includes 10 days of epic activities (and built in friends), but also all of the things I just mentioned above. No need to get a SIM card or bank account or TFN on your own, its all included in the tour.
While the logistics element of the tour was phenomenal, the best part was that I arrived in Australia and made 10 friends within a matter of hours. We spend 10 days together, and by then end of the tour multiple people made plans to travel together or meat up later. I ended up seeing people from my tour many times during my travels and once I moved to Sydney.
There are loads of options for tours from shorter to longer. They also will book your travels for you, making it a lot easier as they are the experts. I did my tour with them, then ended up booking a 7 week trip up the East Coast of Australia with them. They booked accommodations, activities, and provided customer services the whole way.
And now I can give you discount if your book a tour with them:
ARWW50 - for $50 off WTM and WTS
ARWW25 - for $25 off MMP and SMP
I truly could not recommend Welcome to Travel enough.
Finding a Job in Australia
Finding employment in Australia can be a humbling experience. Most Working Holiday Makers work in hospitality, though that isn’t the only option. Here are some options for work:
Hospitality ie barista, waiter, cook, host.
Temp work in an office in an are you have experience in or as a receptionist or office manager.
Regional work ie farming, fruit picking,
Regional work in hospitality working in a roadhouse, resort, or restaurant in a regional area
The big choice is where you want to work, what kind or work you want to do. You don’t need to know this before you get here, but its good to think about it before you get here. When you arrive in Australia, its good to have enough saving to spend about 6 weeks settling in, exploring, and looking for work because it takes a little bit to find a job here.
When you do decide more or less what you want to do, you can start looking for and applying for jobs. Here is what you should do:
Make a resume and print it for passing out in person
If you want to work in hospitality, most jobs are found by going in person and asking if they are hiring
It sounds old school but you should just hit the streets and walk into places that seem like nice places to work and ask for a manager and ask if they're hiring and give a physical resume. Do this everyday until you gte a job basically!
Job Search online: Explore job opportunities through online job portals, recruitment agencies, and local job boards on Facebook
I really recommend joining local facebook with less than 10k people that are mostly Australian, because they have the job. For example finding the local neighbourhood groups where people post about neighbourhood issues and jobs.
Networking:
Reach out to anyone you know in Australia or any loose connection you have, you never know if they can help you!
They have a great work email newsletter that you get access to if you do a tour with them. And they will also give loads of tips in your 1 on 1 at the end of your tour for best places to look for jobs in Australia.
Traveling While in Australia
Of course you didn’t come all the way to Australia to just work! A great way to balance work and holiday is to work for a few months and save us, then travel for a few months. I personally had savings for when I arrived to Australia so I traveled the East Coast first for about 2 months, then once I was running out of money, I moved to Sydney and got a job to save up for about 5 months before traveling again.
There are some typical backpacker routes like the East Coast from Melbourne to Cairns. You can do it via Greyhound bus and you stop all along the way to see heaps of cities and cool places.
And of course there are so many other places to see like the Outback, Perth, Tasmania, WA, and so much more.
Some things to know about traveling here:
Its expensive. Accomodation isn’t cheap and the only way to keep that cost down is staying in hostels or house sitting. The food is expensive and the activities as well. Make sure you have enough saved up. I spent about 8k AUD for 2 months of traveling and I’d say generally having about $1k AUd per week of budget travel is standard, though it can be way cheaper or way more.
Australia is a pretty safe country, but of course be aware of your surroundings and don’t put your guard down.
The spiders and snakes are definitely exaggerated abroad, but they are here and you will see them. What you will see the most though is never mentioned abroad, that is the presence of cockroaches. But you’ll survive.
Traveling here is incredible and pretty easy as its a very developed country. Enjoy it!
Finding Housing in Australia
Securing long-term accommodation in Australia really varies depending on the city. In Sydney and Melbourne its tough as the rental market is very tight. In smaller cities I’ve heard its a lot easier. You will need to be flexible.
Here are some guidelines for finding housing:
Only start looking once you arrive. Don’t send any money to a place you haven’t seen. Have a contract in place, the housing laws here are really strong and you want to have a contract in place so you can get your bond back.
Look online for places on Flatmates.com.au and in facebook groups! Make sure to arrange inspection and be very clear in what you are looking for and what living situation you like.
Rent prices here are done weekly. The vary dramatically depending on the city or town. Can be as low as $150 a week on regional areas to as high as $500 a week in Sydney for a room in a shared apartment.
I’d say you should budget about 3-4 weeks for finding a place to live. Can be way shorter, but better to be on the safe side.
88 Days and Extending Your Visa
For Working Holiday Visa holders interested in extending their stay in Australia beyond the initial 12 months, completing 88 days of specified work in regional areas may qualify you for a second-year visa extension. Eligible work includes:
Agriculture (fruit picking, farm work)
Construction
Tourism and hospitality
This basically means that to stay in Australia for longer, you have to work in a more rural area of Australia doing work that they can’t find Australians to do. So this means some of the work is pretty intense. But there are also great situations like working in a resort. If you want to do this you have to make sure that you have enough time before the expiration dat of your current visa. So basically dont leave it for the last 3 months cause you may not be able to complete them, I would make sure you have at least 4 months left so you don’t have to worry about running out of time.
Ensure you meet all eligibility criteria and keep detailed records of your work to apply for the visa extension successfully.
Why move to Oz?
Moving to Australia on a Working Holiday Visa is an amazing opportunity and something you should do before it’s too late (aka you’re too old)! While it may seem overwhelming at first, just take it one step at a time and you will slayyy.
Whether it's lounging on pristine beaches, hiking through rugged wilderness, or immersing yourself in vibrant city life, Australia has something for everyone.
If you liked this blog but still want to know more, you’re in luck!
Get my full and FREE eBook to a WHV in Australia! In over 30 pages of valuable information, I guide you step by step on how to do it. I even throw in a CV template and checklist.
