From 1st July 2019, several changes have taken place giving more flexibility to Working Holiday visa applicants.

The changes in summary are:

  1. Working Holiday Makers who have completed at least six months specified regional employment in their second year may be eligible for a third year visa. The 6 months of work must all be carried out on or after 1 July 2019, with applications able to be lodged from January 2020.
  2. Extension of the period a WHM (subclass 417 and 462) may work with the same agricultural employer, from six to 12 months.
  3. Increase in the number of places available for travellers from, Spain (1,500 up to 3,400), Israel (500 up to 2,500), Peru (100 up to 1,500), Chile (2,000 up to 3,400), Argentina (from 1,500 up to 2,450), Malaysia (100 up to 1,100), Singapore (from 500 up to 2,500) and Portugal (200 up to 500).
  4. Greece (500 places) and Ecuador (100 new places) added to WHM visa program, taking the total number of eligible countries to 44.
  5. The maximum eligible age for French applicants has been raised to 35 years.

Please refer to DoHA’s Joint Media Release issued on 01 July 2019 for full details.