Schedule 2 – Subclass 462 (Work and Holiday) visas
This Schedule amends the Migration Regulations to allow Work and Holiday (Subclass 462) visa holders to apply for and be granted a second Work and Holiday visa if they meet certain legislative requirements. In particular, applicants will be required to demonstrate that while holding their first Work and Holiday visa they performed three months ‘specified Subclass 462 work’ (meaning work of a kind specified by the Minister, carried out in one or more areas of Australia specified by the Minister), and that this work was remunerated in accordance with relevant Australian legislation and awards.
The amendments made to the Migration Regulations by this Schedule will allow applications for a second Work and Holiday (subclass 462) visa where the applicant:
• is, or has previously been, in Australia as the holder of a Subclass 462 visa at the time of application;
• is in or outside Australia, but not in immigration clearance;
• declares that he or she has carried out ‘specified Subclass 462 work’ for a total period of at least 3 months while holding a subclass 462 visa;
• has not previously held more than one Subclass 462 visa in Australia; and
• if he or she is in Australia, holds a substantive visa or has held a substantive visa at any time in the period of 28 days immediately before making the application.
Further, these amendments will allow the Minister to make a legislative instrument that specifies the eligible kinds of work, and the locations where that work must be carried out, for the purposes of ‘specified Subclass 462 work’ and, therefore, for the purposes of granting a second Work and Holiday visa. In line with the Government’s White Paper on Developing Northern Australia, ‘specified Subclass 462 work’ will be work undertaken in the agriculture, forestry, fisheries, tourism and hospitality industries and the areas in which this work must be undertaken will include all of the Northern Territory, and northern parts of Western Australia and Queensland.
The amendments will also specify that a person cannot be granted more than two Work and Holiday visas, and each visa is valid for 12 months stay in Australia.