Australia announces reforms to Working Holiday and Visitor visas

Australia is preparing to change several rules governing its temporary visa system.

Home Affairs and Immigration Minister Tony Burke unveiled a new package of migration policy measures on September 17, 2026, including several changes that directly affect travelers.

Two measures stand out in particular: the planned introduction of a ballot for second and third Working Holiday Maker visas and the expansion of the “No Further Stay” condition to Visitor visas.

The government says it wants greater control over different temporary visa flows. According to Tony Burke, “these reforms are to ensure that our migration system can be better targeted to the current needs of Australia.” This is the broader rationale put forward by the government for the package announced on September 17.

The Department of Home Affairs says the changes have begun to be implemented and will be progressively rolled out over the next 12 months.

A ballot for a second or third Working Holiday year

The most significant change for young travelers concerns the Working Holiday Maker program, which includes the Working Holiday visa (subclass 417) and the Work and Holiday visa (subclass 462).

Under the current system, eligible visa holders may qualify for a second and then a third year in Australia if they meet the specified work requirements attached to their visa.

For those subject to these rules, applicants generally need to complete three months of eligible work, commonly referred to as 88 days, to apply for a second visa, followed by six months of eligible work to qualify for a third.

These remain the requirements currently published by the Department of Home Affairs.

The government intends to keep these work requirements, but meeting them would no longer automatically provide access to the next visa.

In a speech delivered at the National Press Club on September 17, Tony Burke announced that applicants who meet the eligibility criteria would instead be entered into a ballot.

For the second year, the number of places would be capped at 45,000. The minister said around 57,000 people had met the requirements in the previous year.

For the third year, the cap would be much lower: 5,000 places, compared with around 31,000 people who qualified the previous year.

Burke summed up the logic of the new system by stating that “not everybody will get through because we need to have some control and certainty of what those numbers are.”

The 88-day work requirement would remain

Introducing a ballot would therefore not eliminate the specified work requirement.

To be eligible for the ballot for a second year, applicants would still need to complete the required 88 days of eligible work in approved industries and areas.

For a third year, the requirement for six months of specified work would also remain.

The difference would be significant: meeting these requirements would no longer guarantee access to the next visa, but would instead make the traveler eligible to enter the ballot.

Practical details of the future system, including registration periods, the selection process and the rules that would apply if the number of applicants falls below the cap, have not yet been published.

Tony Burke has also said this part of the reform requires legislative amendments that have not yet been passed. The new selection system is therefore not currently in effect.

Who would be affected by the Working Holiday ballot?

The planned ballot system would affect eligible travelers seeking a second or third Working Holiday Maker visa, whether they fall under the Working Holiday visa (subclass 417) or the Work and Holiday visa (subclass 462).

Eligibility depends on the passport held and the rules attached to each visa stream. French citizens, for example, are eligible for the subclass 417 visa up to age 35, while travelers from other participating countries may fall under subclass 417 or subclass 462 and may be subject to different age limits and conditions.

Under the proposed reform, meeting the specified work requirements would no longer necessarily guarantee access to a second or third year. Instead, eligible applicants would enter the new ballot, subject to the final legislation and implementation rules.

UK passport holders retain special arrangements

The situation is different for British passport holders.

Since July 1, 2024, they have been able to obtain up to three Working Holiday visas without completing the specified work periods normally required, under arrangements introduced through the Australia-UK Free Trade Agreement.

Tony Burke specifically referred to this exception when presenting the future system and noted that UK applications remain a special case within the program.

The exact way the new quota system will interact with the arrangements granted to British passport holders will still need to be clarified.

Another change after the Working Holiday visa fee increase

The reform comes only a few months after a significant increase in the cost of these visas.

Since July 1, 2026, the cost of a first Working Holiday Visa has increased to AUD 840.

Second and third subclass 417 Working Holiday visas are currently priced at AUD 1,000 by the Department of Home Affairs.

The planned ballot would therefore bring another major change to access to second and third years, this time affecting selection rather than cost.

The government also announces a three-month processing target

The September 17 package also includes measures addressing visa processing.

The government says it wants to stabilize Working Holiday Maker processing times at three months.

The announcement follows a recent VisasNews report on longer processing times for Working Holiday visas.

Home Affairs’ current processing-time table shows a much shorter recent overall timeframe for the program, but the department also warns that applications lodged from outside Australia can, in some cases, take several months and advises travelers not to book their trip until their visa has been granted.

The three-month target should therefore be understood as a program-level processing objective rather than a guarantee that every individual application will be decided within exactly that period.

A “No Further Stay” condition planned for all Visitor visas

The other major change concerns travelers entering Australia on a Visitor visa.

The government has announced plans to apply a “No Further Stay” condition to all Visitor visas, with the stated aim of preventing these visas from being used as a pathway to extend a stay from inside Australia.

This condition already exists within the Australian visa system.

For the Visitor visa subclass 600, for example, condition 8503, No Further Stay, can currently prevent the holder from applying for another visa while in Australia. Home Affairs says waivers are available only in limited circumstances.

The change announced on September 17 is therefore the government’s intention to expand this principle across Visitor visas, rather than the creation of a new condition.

What exactly does “No Further Stay” mean?

A No Further Stay condition does not require travelers to leave Australia before the date already permitted by their visa.

Instead, it restricts their ability to apply for another visa from within Australia in order to extend their stay.

The current subclass 600 system illustrates the distinction: a traveler who wants to remain longer must apply for another visa, but cannot do so from inside Australia if their current visa includes a condition preventing further stay.

The change is therefore most likely to affect travelers who enter Australia as visitors and later plan to change their status or extend their time in the country without first leaving Australia.

What about the eVisitor used by European travelers?

This is one of the issues that still needs clarification.

For short trips to Australia, British, Irish, French, German, Italian, Spanish and many other European passport holders are eligible for the eVisitor subclass 651. Travelers holding passports from countries and jurisdictions such as the US, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Taiwan may use the Electronic Travel Authority subclass 601, while travelers who are not eligible for either may need a Visitor visa subclass 600.

The government is currently using the broad wording “all visitor visas,” but has not yet published detailed guidance explaining how the future condition will apply to each individual category.

It would therefore be premature to say that every future subclass 651 eVisitor will automatically carry a new condition from a specific date, as no implementation date or subclass-specific rules have yet been published.

For European travelers using the eVisitor, this will be one of the key details to watch when the implementing rules are released.

Current rules remain in effect for now

The September 17 announcements amount to a roadmap for reform, rather than the immediate introduction of every measure announced.

Home Affairs says the changes have begun to be implemented and will be rolled out progressively over the next 12 months.

The future ballot for second and third Working Holiday years, in particular, still requires legislative action.

For now, official pages continue to state that subclass 417 holders can apply for a second year after completing three months of specified work and a third year after six months, with no general 45,000 or 5,000 cap currently applying to ongoing applications.

Travelers planning to depart for Australia or extend their stay should therefore continue to follow the rules currently published by the Department of Home Affairs until detailed regulations and implementation dates are released.