The Fine Print for 2nd year visa jobs (Australian working holiday visa holders):
So you loved your first year on an Australian Working holiday visa, you drank the goon, avoided the drop bears and loved every minute of it! But now you’re in search of second year visa to extend you work in Australia- and there’s a fair number of hoops to jump through.
Here’s what you need:
- Rural jobs in Australia such as farmwork- work in populated urban areas will not count
- Paid work for WHV holders- the rules were changed in 2015 so that volunter or unpaid work in rural Oz does not count
- To spend 88 days in total completing that work
- To provide payslips and other documentation as proof for your visa extension.
My aim in this post is to show you that there are a host of second year visa jobs in rural Australia that tick all the boxes: unique, unusual skills, and they will get you your aus working holiday extension. Here’s to inspiring you and the hope that you won’t need to head home just yet. Forget mining in Tasmania, this is where smart travellers head!
Ideally, these examples will show you how many possibilities are out there in terms of Australian farm jobs and other suitable work. All these adverts stated that they can sign on off on second year visa work, but be sure to check with the advertiser in detail. Meanwhile, if you’re keen to find out about real traveller experiences in Darwin and the lowdown on living costs, click the link.
Is it a scam though?
I’ve sourced adverts from sites that focus on work in exchange for food and accommodation, but which also have some paid opportunities- worth bearing in mind! Still, I’ve used them myself and lived to tell the tale. The sites also operates reviews which are a big help in knowing exactly what you’ll get when you show up. However, some sites do also charge a small annual fee (around 15 dollars) well worth paying, in my opinion.
I spent 2 weeks in suburbia writing copy for a host who wanted to open a miracle fasting website- no joke- as part of my first year Australian working holiday visa.
Daintree River Farmwork, Queensland
Time for some good old fashioned mangosteen picking but here from a host who lives on the banks of a river filled with crocodiles- not even kidding. But, there’s no need to go near the crocs and a chance to experience rural beauty. Access by boat only, so get your sailing hat on!
This is essentially the real outback, with heaps of kangeroos, emus and very very little chance of accessing a Starbucks. The job is farmwork in rural Australia with free accommodation and meals and also a negotiable wage. Did I mention they have A/C and a chance to have you ride quad bikes?
Kenilworth Farmwork, Queensland
From milking cows to driving a tractor, there’s an authentic experience to be had here- several kilometres from the nearest township and with a chance to see a platypus and other Australian wildlife in nearby national parks.
Donnybrook Farmwork, Western Australia
Fancy working at a boutique winery with vineyard? Here’s your chance to dabble in a new field, and enjoy wifi and outdoor showers while staying with your host. They promise good food and even better winetasting while you’re there.
How to get your 2nd year visa farmwork:
Be clear on your aims:
For me, I had found full time work in my own field in urban Australia, so my main aim in seeking rural Australian farmwork jobs was to get my visa extension and enjoy the experience as much as possible. Where accommodation and food are free, it’s easy to put money aside, but I wasn’t digging for the most profitable farmwork in exchange for slave labour. If you’re looking to save as much as possible and don’t care too much how you experience your 88 days, be upfront about that in your job search.
Where can I find jobs to get a 2nd year working holiday visa in australia?
- Work for accommodation sites such as HelpX.net and Workaway.info – select only paid opportunities from these sites, but the reviews feature gave me great peace of mind, so these were my preferred method.
- Facebook- there are a host of dedicated groups for backpacker jobs in Australia
- Dedicated job sites- such as jobaroo.com
- Friends recommended to me that calling farms, or hostels in an area where you work and asking for farm work is a very successful, if time-consuming tactic and it really does work. Plus, this puts you ahead of the queue as you’ll find jobs that are less advertised.
Don’t forget: There are often times when you cannot work (such as bad weather) so it will likely take you 100+ working days in total to achieve your 88 day completing rural work.
Looking for something to do on your days off? If you’re in Victoria, you can’t do better than to take on the stunning Great Ocean Road for a road trip!
My best trick:
A quirk of the way visas work is that if you are outside the country when your 1st working holiday visa ends, and you are granted a 2nd Australian working holiday visa, you have up to a year to re-enter and then get a full 2nd year of time in Australia. Because of that, many backpackers head to New Zealand on the last day of their 1 year working holiday visa even if they know they can have a 2nd year extension.
Looking for tips on your 1st year Australian Working Holiday visa? Read how I prepared myself to quickly find work once I landed.
So what are you waiting for? Time to discuss terms with the hosts and roll your sleeves up! There are heaps of jobs to get a 2nd year working holiday visa in australia!
Questions about the Australian working holiday visa? Leave them below or tweet me @live10countries.
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I actually found this post extremely helpful! My husband is an Australian citizen but we’re not currently living there. I’ve been looking for various visa options so we won’t have to stay apart for long and I had no idea a working holiday in Australia was a thing! Thank you so much for sharing this 🙂
Hi Rimsha, thanks for commenting- that’s awesome! I had a great time on my working holiday visa and I hope you will too.
This is so helpful for those looking to obtain the Australian Working Holiday Visa for an additional year. When I was living in Japan, I had a few friends who went to Australia with the the Working Holiday Visa and they loved their time there.
These are some great tips! Would definitely recommend this article to others when they’re looking to get an Australian Working Holiday Visa for a second year! Thank you for sharing. 🙂
I love the idea of farming or working in a vineyard, although I think my favourite job to do in Oz would be to work as a divemaster. What better way could there be possibly to spend a day?
I am actually considering going to Australia for WHS, and this post about finding paid jobs is extremely helpful. I am a wine enthusiast, so work in a boutique winery in the Western Australia sounds like my cup of tea, but other farm work also look enticing, because I love the scenery and the wilderness in the outbacks. Thanks for the great resources and enjoy the rest of your stay in Australia!
Is there an age limit for these working holiday visas? I haven’t done my first year yet & I’m worried it’s too late for me already! A friend of a friend is out there at the moment, and I think they’re looking at extending their visa so I’ll send this to him. I don’t think he realised there were so many rules though like having to work in rural areas – I think he was hoping to spend more time in the city!
Yes the cut off is your 31st birthday but if you’re below that I would hugely recommend them to anyone- remarkably free of red tape in comparison to other visas! In Australia you are granted 1 year to do as you want, but if you spend 3 months of the year working ina rural location you can apply for 1 more year. If you don’t do the rural work, you cannot stay longer.
Hello, I will be applying for the WHV at 30 and will turn 31 before I finish my first year. My question is can I apply for the second year visa at 31? I haven’t been able to find anything about this exactly on the website, and I have no idea how to contact someone about this.