Australia Work and Holiday Visa
A Work and Holiday Visa (WHV) allows young people (under 30) to travel and work temporarily in another country, with short-term employment to help fund their adventures.
The idea first came to me after returning home to Malaysia, after studying and working in the US for 5 years. When I looked into the WHV, I saw that I was perfectly eligible and that applications were open for my country. So, being 23, with my US visa expired and no job tying me down, I thought, "Why not?" It was a hefty fee but some extensive research and a leap of faith later, my WHV was approved — and I started dreaming of my first trip to Australia.
Below, I’ve shared the resources I gathered during my WHV application process. Hope this helps!
Australia Work and Holiday Visa (subclass 462)
Google Doc version (as of Jan 2025)
Useful links:
Program Year: 1 July to 30 June
Check your country application status: https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/what-we-do/whm-program/status-of-country-caps
(Most applications are processed within 79 days but it can take longer in some cases. Check processing times here.)
Length of stay: 12 months from the day you enter Australia
Quota: 1100 Malaysians / year
Cost:
Application fee: AUD 650 (~ RM1850 / 450 USD)
Proof of savings: AUD 5,000 (~ RM14.3k / 3,500 USD) plus enough money to leave Australia
Possible extras like biometrics, health examinations, and police certificates
Biometrics in KL: RM 118
Health examination in KL: RM 325
Malaysia Certificate of Good Conduct: RM20
Conditions:
Do any kind of work. However, you can only work for the same employer for 6 months (some exceptions to this).
Study for up to 4 months.
You must enter Australia within 12 months of the visa grant date. The visa stay period (12 months) will then start on the date you enter Australia. This applies even if you transit through Australia on your way to another country.
Leave and enter Australia as many times as you want within the 12 months of visa grant date.
To be eligible to apply for a second work and holiday visa (extend longer), you need to undertake 3 months of specified subclass 462 work (see below).
Eligibility:
Age 18 to 30
Apply from outside Australia
Have a passport from an eligible country
Apply on your own. Can’t include family members
Not be accompanied by dependents
Not have previously entered Australia on a previous work and holiday visa (subclass 462 or 417 visa)
Have a tertiary qualification (university, college, etc) or completed 2 years of undergraduate university study
Have functional english
Have a letter of support from your government depending on country (Malaysia = good conduct certificate)
Meet Australia health requirement (may be asked to perform a health examination)
Documents needed:
Passport information
Copy of your birth certificate
Evidence of funds (>AUD 5,000)
Proof of english language proficiency
Character documents (letter of support from government)
Additional details:
You do not need to apply for another visa to enter Australia. E.g., if you apply and are granted an eVisitor visa (subclass 651), your Work and Holiday visa will cease on the date that visa is granted. You will not be able to apply for another subclass 651 visa while in Australia.
If you earn a certain amount, your employer must pay a superannuation fund (retirement savings). After exiting Australia, you can access your superannuation.
You are strongly recommended to take out health insurance. You are personally liable for all your healthcare costs.
China, India, and Vietnam passport holders must first participate in a pre-application process (ballot) and be randomly selected to apply for this visa.
Specified work and conditions (min 3 months) to apply for a second Work and Holiday visa:
To be eligible for a second Working Holiday Maker (WHM) visa, you have to carry out at least 3 months of specified work (88 calendar days including weekends or equivalent rest days)
To be eligible for a third WHM visa, you have to carry out at least 6 months of specified work (179 calendar days including weekends or equivalent days)
You do not need to do your 3 or 6 months consecutively, you are free to spread the work over your current visa.
The following industries are approved for specified work:
Tourism and hospitality in Northern or remote and very remote Australia (tour guide, chef, dive instructor)
Plant and animal cultivation in northern Australia and other specified areas (picking fruits, herding cattle, conservation and environmental reforestation work)
Fishing and pearling in northern Australia only
Tree farming and felling in northern Australia only
Construction in northern Australia and other specified areas
Bushfire recovery work in declared bushfire affected areas
Recovery work in flood, cyclone, or other severe weather affected areas
Critical COVID-19 work in the healthcare and medical sectors anywhere in Australia
Questions I asked the Australia Global Service Center (+61 261960196):
Are there any limits on how many hours I am able to work?
No. However, the “specified work” to be eligible for a second or third WHM counts by days and not hours.
Would I be able to work more than one job?
There are no restrictions as long as you don’t work a single job for more than 6 months.
My application process (Sept - Dec 2024)
Create an ImmiAccount.
Fill up 17 pages of information. The questions consist of visa application type, passport details, contact information, expected date of arrival, education, employment, language, health declaration, and character declaration.
Attach documents for all 6 categories. The categories are passport, home government support letter, passport-size photograph, evidence of funds, language abilities, and education qualification. You can attach multiple documents in each category.
* Because I’m Malaysian, I didn’t realize that there was a whole other process to receive my Certificate of Good Conduct. So I followed this user guide from our Ministry of Foreign Affairs to apply for the certificate. The guide stated that this takes about 30-60 working days to process but mine was processed in 11 days! (I applied in September 2024)
Create an account in e-Konsular.
Make a new application for a Certificate of Good Conduct.
Fill in information such as passport details, contact, employment, higher education, pdf of your passport, and passport-size picture.
For the purpose of traveling, I wasn’t sure what to select so I selected both “working” and “others”. I wrote “Work and Holiday Visa” in the “others” text box and attached a screenshot pdf of my incomplete ImmiAccount application.
Print out collection slip and RM20 receipt to pick up the Certificate of Good Conduct from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. (I went to Putrajaya)
Scan and upload the certificate into ImmiAccount.
Submit the ImmiAccount application and pay AUD650.
I immediately received a confirmation email from the Australian Department of Home Affairs.
Along with that, I also received two other emails to request my biometrics and health examination.
I found the biometric collection center and panel physical locations with this link: https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/help-support/contact-us/offices-and-locations/list
Biometric collection procedure (RM20): https://visa.vfsglobal.com/mys/en/aus/biometric-collection
I made an appointment with “Life Care Diagnostic Medical Center” and paid RM325
Both the biometric and health examination results were submitted to my ImmiAccount by the center. No further actions were required on my side.
Log into ImmiAccount to make sure everything is submitted. You can check your typical processing times here.
I applied on 6th November 2024 (without biometric and health examinations) and received my application approval on 19th December 2024 (in 43 days). The email will be titled “IMMI Grant Notification”. Good luck!
