Adjustments to Working Holiday Maker ( Subclass 417 or a Subclass 462) ‘specified work’ requirements?
Individuals who have travelled to Australia under the Working Holiday Maker program (either a Subclass 417 or a Subclass 462 depending on passport nationality), will be well aware of the requirements imposed on these visas to complete a period of specified work to obtain either a second or third visa. Typically, holidaymakers and backpackers have had to move to regional towns to pick fruit or assist with other plant/animal cultivation.
As Australia has been severely impacted by natural disasters and COVID-19 (as with the rest of the world) over the last three years, we have seen a continued expansion of what it means to undertake ‘specified work’ for the purposes of securing a further stay in Australia under a working holiday visa. This has been an effective way of harnessing a captive and willing mobile workforce to assist in times of critical need.
What is Specified Work?
As the name suggests, the work that must be completed is ‘specified’ based on selected industries and regions in Australia. For most specified work, employment must be remunerated at least in accordance with the Australian Fair Work legislation and must be the main tasks and duties performed during that period. A majority of the specified work listed must take place in regional areas of Australia (though there are some exceptions). There are a variety of industries included under the working holiday maker program Specified Work Subclass 417 and Specified Work Subclass 462 including the following:
plant and animal cultivation
fishing and pearling
tree farming and felling
mining
construction
bushfire recovery work in declared bushfire affected areas only (after 31 July 2019)
critical COVID-19 work in the healthcare and medical sectors anywhere in Australia (after 31 January 2020)
tourism and hospitality in northern or remote and very remote Australia (from 22 June 2021)
What adjustments have been made?
The Australian Government has released Migration (Specified work and areas for subclass 417 and 462 visas) Amendment Instrument (LIN 22/050) 2022 which makes changes and updates to existing legislative instruments outlining approved specified work.
The key changes are:
Flood Recovery Work – in light of the devastating floods occurring in Northern NSW and Queensland, Flood Recovery work carried out from 31 December 2021 in the listed flood effected areas can be counted for the purposes of ‘specified work’. The types of work participated in are quite broad and include clean-up, construction or any other work in association with restitution or restoration of services, land, waterways, property or infrastructure, and providing support services or assistance to people living, working or volunteering in the affected areas. More importantly, the work does not have to be paid. Unpaid or volunteer work under this banner is included.
Bushfire Recovery Work – though not a new category of specified work (has been in effect since 31 July 2019), the new instrument updates this type of work to include unpaid and volunteer work completed as part of the bushfire recovery efforts within affected communities.
Tourism and Hospitality work – anyone who has visited a café or restaurant recently will be well aware of the key labour shortages being experienced by this industry as a result of COVID-19. The new instrument expands on the locations in which this type of work can be carried out to include Queensland 4406, 4416, 4498, and Tasmania 7215.
The above changes provide more flexibility and options to working holiday makers when looking to extend their stay in Australia whilst supporting the needs of the Australian community at the same time.
Working Holiday Makers must take note of and abide by the specified work requirements as COVID-19 has not seen a reduction or relaxation of these requirements. Many individuals have found themselves caught out by the Department of Home Affairs by declaring to have undertaken specified work when this has not been the case. The Department does check and vet employment declared and you don’t want to find yourself at the end of a Notice of Intention to Consider Cancellation (NOICC)…But if you do, we are here to assist.
How Can Agape Henry Crux Help You?
If you want to find out more about the approved specified work or need help navigating a NOICC, please do not hesitate to contact us. You can book a Migration Planning Session with one of our immigration lawyers to seek professional advice by calling 02-7200 2700 or email us to book in a time at info@ahclawyers.com.
We speak fluent English, Korean, Mandarin, Cantonese, Indonesian, Burmese and Malay. If these aren’t your language, we can also help you arrange an interpreter.
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