Australia's working holiday visa for Brits: three years, up to age 35

Brits now get the best working holiday deal Australia offers: three years, up to age 35, and no farm work.

The short version

• The Working Holiday visa (subclass 417) is open to UK passport holders aged 18 to 35 inclusive. You can lodge until midnight (AEST) the day before your 36th birthday [1].
• Since 1 July 2024, UK applicants can get three 12-month visas without any specified work, so no 88 days on a farm [1].
• The visas don't have to be back to back, and you can apply for the second and third from inside or outside Australia [1].
• From 1 July 2026 the fee is AUD 840 (about £434) for the first visa and AUD 1,000 (about £516) each for the second and third [4].
• You can still only work six months for any one employer and study for four months [1].

Pound conversions use the Bank of England spot rate of 5 November 2026 (£1 = AUD 1.9363).

What changed for Brits

The UK–Australia free trade agreement, which came into force in 2023, made the 417 far more generous for British passport holders. It happened in two steps [1]:

Everyone else on a 417 still has to do three months of "specified work" (usually farm, fishing, construction or similar work in regional Australia) to get a second year, and six months for a third. Brits applying on or after 1 July 2024 don't [1]. If you did a year or two on the old rules, you can apply for the remaining visas under the new ones.

A couple of quirks are worth knowing:

• It's the passport that counts. You must apply with a UK passport. A British National (Overseas) passport also qualifies [1].
• Dual nationals get three visas in total, not three per passport. If you're Irish and British, apply with the UK passport to skip specified work [1].
• COVID-affected visas don't count towards your three [1].

The age limit in practice

The cut-off is generous but firm. You must be 35 or under when you lodge, and the Department of Home Affairs worked example is clear that someone who was 31 in 2023 can still apply for second and third visas up to age 35 [1]. The age test applies each time you lodge, so if you want all three years, plan to lodge the second and third visas before you turn 36 rather than leaving it to the last minute.

If you're in your early thirties and wondering whether you've missed the boat, you probably haven't. Plenty of Brits now arrive with a career behind them rather than a gap-year rucksack.

How much it costs and what you need

Source: Home Affairs' Working Holiday visa page, checked November 2026 [4]. The fees rose sharply in July 2026 (the first-year fee was AUD 670 before), so check the Home Affairs pricing estimator before you pay.

You also need:

1. Enough money to support yourself. Home Affairs expects you to show funds for your first stretch here. The figure most often quoted is about AUD 5,000 (about £2,582), but it's guidance rather than a fixed legal amount, so check the visa page when you apply [2].
2. Money for a flight out, or a ticket already booked.
3. To meet the health and character requirements. Some applicants are asked for a medical or police certificates.
4. No dependent children with you while you're in Australia.

Apply online through ImmiAccount. For a first 417 you need to be outside Australia when you apply and when it's granted; the second and third can be lodged from here or from abroad [1].

Working on a 417

The visa is for a holiday funded by work, not a job with a holiday attached, and two limits still apply to Brits [1]:

• Six months per employer. You can't work for one employer for more than six months without permission. Some sectors have exceptions; check before you sign anything long term.
• Four months of study. Enough for a short course, not a degree.

In Sydney that usually means hospitality, events, retail, admin and contract roles in the CBD, plus building and trades work. Office temping is common, and if you have a professional background, a six-month contract can look very like a normal job.

Tax and super

Working holiday makers have their own tax rate. Your employer withholds 15% on the first AUD 45,000 (about £23,240) you earn in a financial year, and normal rates above that [3]. The Australian financial year runs 1 July to 30 June, not April to April like back home in Blighty.

A few practical points from the Australian Taxation Office [3]:

• Get a tax file number (TFN) online once your visa is granted. You don't have to, but without one you pay more tax.
• Your employer must be registered with the ATO as a working holiday maker employer. You don't register yourself, but tell them your visa subclass.
• Super is paid on top of your wages. When you leave for good you can claim it back as a departing Australia superannuation payment (DASP), but for working holiday makers it's taxed at 65% [3]. Painful, but better than leaving it behind.

On the UK side, think about whether you've properly left. A year or two in Sydney usually makes you non-resident under the Statutory Residence Test, but not if you keep spending lots of days in the UK. Our guide to the Statutory Residence Test explains how it works, and the P85 guide covers telling HMRC.

Healthcare, bank and phone in your first week

As a British visitor you can usually enrol in Medicare for medically necessary treatment under the UK–Australia reciprocal health care agreement. It isn't full cover (no ambulance, no private hospital, no non-urgent care), so travel insurance or a health policy still makes sense. Our guide to Medicare for Brits explains who can enrol and when.

Then the usual faff: an Australian bank account (you can often open one online before you land), a local SIM, a Service NSW account and an Opal card or contactless bank card for the trains, buses and ferries.

What comes next after three years

The 417 doesn't lead to permanent residence on its own. If you want to stay, these are the usual routes:

Plenty of Brits move from a 417 to a sponsored job: a six-month contract turns into an offer, and the employer sponsors you. Our guides to skilled work visas and partner visas go through each route. Visa rules change often, so check Home Affairs before you plan around a specific deadline.

If you'd like to swap notes with people who've done it, from sorting a TFN to the best Sunday roast in the Inner West, our community group for Brits in Australia is a good place to ask.

Sources

1. Department of Home Affairs: Working Holiday (subclass 417) arrangements for UK passport holders
2. Magpie Consultants: Working holiday visa 417 for UK citizens in 2026
3. Australian Taxation Office: Working holiday makers
4. Department of Home Affairs: Working Holiday visa (subclass 417)

Keep reading

• Moving to Sydney as a Brit
• Renting in Sydney
• Skilled work visas in Australia for Brits
• The Statutory Residence Test explained