Working Holiday 6 month work limitation

Many businesses that employ temporary visa holders will have staff on Working Holiday visas. These visas are granted for a year at a time and can be renewed up to three times, subject to the applicant satisfying any age and regional work experience requirements.

Within the first 6 months of employment, employees can work full time for any Australian business without restriction, but maintaining employment beyond the 6 month timeframe requires planning.

Condition 8547

A mandatory condition on Working Holiday visas is condition 8547. This condition limits Working Holiday visa holders to working with one employer for 6 months at a time, unless one of the exemptions is satisfied.

Employers need to ensure they are not employing staff in breach of this visa condition.

In January 2024, the Department of Home Affairs introduced a range of policy exemptions to Condition 8547 so as not to disrupt businesses in the post-COVID economic recovery environment. These exemptions continue to apply.

Common Exemptions

The first and most commonly utilised exemption is the rule that the condition is not breached if the employee changes work locations within the 6-month period. This means an employee can perform their role in the office and then, just prior to the 6-month period, change to working from home. This could also be satisfied by working in two different locations of the same business.

Another common exemption is based on working in a ‘critical sector’. Visa holders working in agriculture, food processing, health, aged and disability care, childcare, tourism and hospitality are exempt from the 6-month rule.

Employer Sponsorship and Condition 8547

When a business decides to sponsor a Working Holiday visa holder, provided the employee has submitted their subclass 482 visa application, the Department will allow the employee to continue working beyond the 6 month period if a formal request to do so has been made by the business.

The Department are currently dealing with a very large volume of such requests. As a result, it is common for applicants to receive no response from the Department at all. The Department has made it clear that this is normal, and employers do not need to be concerned, so long as the request has been made.

If you have an employee with a Working Holiday visa and are wondering how to deal with the 6-month work limitation condition, please contact Long Migration Law.