Specified work (second Working Holiday visa only)
Eligibility
For 417.211(5) and 417.221(1) an applicant who has previously entered Australia on a Working
Holiday visa and is applying for a second Working Holiday visa:

must have carried out at least 3 months specified work (refer to the definition in Schedule 1
item 1225(5) and the associated legislative instrument) (417.211(5)(b)
with that work undertaken:

in regional Australia (refer to the definition in Schedule 1 item 1225(5) and the associated
legislative instrument) (417.211(5)(a))


on a full-time equivalent basis and remunerated in accordance with Australian workplace law

(417.211(5)(c) and
while holding a Working Holiday visa (417.211(5)(a)).
For the policy requirements, refer to:

Meaning of 3 months

Types of specified work

Nature of work undertaken

Full-time equivalent basis

Appropriate remuneration

Specified work assessment

Evidence of specified work

Adverse third party information (including from employers)

Regional Australia.
Meaning of 3 months
Under policy, three months is taken to mean 88 days, which is the shortest possible combination of
months in a calendar year. One full day of work is defined as having worked the minimum number of
hours considered a standard day by the particular industry in which the applicant is employed.
Generally, the Australian working week is 35 to 40 hours, comprising 7 to 8 hours of work each day.
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Individual employers cannot set a smaller period of time than the industry standard to satisfy the
specified work requirement.
In calculating the period of time for which the applicant has undertaken specified work, the type of
employment relationship the applicant may have with their employer, including full/part time
employment, casual employment or voluntary employment, is not as important as whether the
relevant industry considers the period of work completed to be equivalent to full time work for that
industry. For example, if the applicant’s paid employment involved 2 weeks on and then 2 weeks off,
and this is standard practice in the industry, the applicant would be considered to have worked for 4
weeks (28 days). If the employer is satisfied that the applicant has undertaken the equivalent of full
time work for that industry for the specified period, delegates may be satisfied that the applicant has
undertaken full time work for the specified period.
Applicants whose work is equivalent to full time employment may count weekends in the 88 day
period. However, if the applicant’s work is not equivalent to full time employment, that is, part time
or casual, they may only count the full days actually worked.
If the applicant is employed by more than one employer at the same time, they may only count each
calendar day of work completed once towards their 88 day specified work requirement.
The shortest period that may be counted towards the specified work requirement is 1 day of full time
work (for that industry). Applicants cannot count a long day of work as more than one day of
specified work. For example, if the industry’s standard day is 6 hours long, working a 12 hour day
does not count as two days of specified work.
An applicant may count sick days only during periods they were employed (that is, paid) and entitled
to sick leave or covered by a workers compensation scheme. Days may also be counted if the
applicant was employed (that is, paid) but was unable to work because of climatic conditions (for
example, cyclone). In these situations, supporting evidence should be provided from the employer by
the applicant. Casual workers who were prevented from working because of injury or climatic
conditions (for example, cyclone) cannot count any time they were unable to work towards the 3
month period.
Examples that meet the 3 month specified work requirement
Weekends - The applicant works on a farm for 3 months, from Monday to Friday each week, with
Saturday and Sunday off.
In this instance, the weekends do not have to be “deducted” from the total 3 months, and the
applicant is considered to have worked 7 days each week.
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Cyclical work - The applicant completes 3 months of specified work in regular monthly cycles,
working 21 consecutive days, followed by a period of 7 days off. This monthly cycle is the industry
standard for the type of work.
Shift work - The applicant is employed to harvest oysters for 3 months, and under the employment
contract is only required to work every second week, and has every other week off.
Blocks of work - The applicant completes 60 days of specified work, followed by a period of travel
for 2 months. They then complete another 28 days of specified work.
Examples that do not meet the 3 month specified work requirement
Weekends - The applicant works on a farm 3 days a week for 3 months. Five days is considered full
time work by the industry. Weekends cannot be counted, so the applicant must work a total of 88
days.
Short days - The applicant completes 88 days of specified work, but only works 5 hours a day. The
industry considers 7 hours to be a standard “full time” day. None of this work can be counted.
Work done on another visa type - As the holder of a Student visa, the applicant completes 3
months of specified work during their summer break.
Even if they have previously held a first Working Holiday visa, the work done while on the Student
visa cannot be counted toward the 3 month requirement.
Could not work - The applicant picks bananas for 80 days on a casual basis, but cannot find more
work as there is a cyclone and their first Working Holiday visa ceases.
Types of specified work
The Schedule 1 item 1225(5) ‘specified work’ legislative instrument defines specified work as any type
of work identified in that instrument. The instrument lists a range of eligible work activities, in either
specific or broad terms, generally encompassing work in the industries of agriculture, mining and
construction.
The agricultural work activities defined by the specified work legislative instrument can be interpreted
literally. This applies to plant and animal cultivation, fishing and pearling and tree farming and felling.
The broader activity categories relating to construction and mining are further defined in the 2006
version of the Australian New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC). This source should
be referred to when considering eligibility of work undertaken in the construction and mining
industries - refer to the associated Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) ANZSIC 2006 website.
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Email WHM Policy Enquiries for clarification if specified work eligibility determinations cannot be made
either through general reading of the legislative instrument (for plant and animal cultivation, fishing
and pearling and tree farming and felling) or by consulting ANZSIC.
Nine examples of eligible specified work activities are:

picking fruits on an orchard

feeding and herding cattle on a farm

horse breeding and stud farming

landscaping the grounds of a construction/house site

painting the interior/exterior of new buildings

conservation and environmental reforestation work

zoo work involving plant or animal cultivation

erecting fences on a construction site and

scaffolding.
Eight examples of ineligible specified work activities are:

ship/boat building

performing specialised social science services (such as anthropological and archaeological
assessments) for mining companies

town planning or architecture

working as a nanny on a farm

working at a cellar door providing wine tastings

manufacturing materials used on a construction site (such as concrete or steel)

cooking/catering on a mine site and

cleaning the interior of mine complexes or buildings.
Specified work does not need to be paid work, but must be the primary role, function or activity
performed during the applicant's employment.
Nature of work undertaken
To meet the specified work requirement, the applicant must have undertaken work activities
stipulated in the legislative instrument. Given that the focus ofspecified work is upon the nature of
the work undertaken rather than the type employer worked for (as was the case with seasonal
work),contract-based work is eligible if the work activity performed meets the definition of specified
work.
Work undertaken in a specified industry, but which is not of a specified work kind is not eligible. For
example, a receptionist working for a construction company or a caterer on a mining site would not
qualify for the second Working Holiday visa.
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Full-time equivalent basis
The applicant’s 88 days specified work needs to have been undertaken on a full-time equivalent basis,
as discussed in Meaning of 3 months. Part-time and casual work is acceptable, but the sum total of
the work performed needs to equal 3 months full-time work.
Appropriate remuneration
Specified work undertaken 1 December 2015 onwards has to have been paid work, appropriately
remunerated, with pay slips provided to the department as evidence.
Case officers auditing a second Working Holiday visa application should undertake an additional step
for remuneration verification. This will entail checking the hourly rate of pay on the pay slips provided
by the applicant against minimum wage rates.
The national minimum hourly wage (before tax) for 2015-2016 is AUD 17.29. This is AUD 656.90 for
a 38 hour week. Casual employees also receive a casual loading of at least a 25% on this base rate.
The national minimum wage is reviewed, and changes, every financial year. For ongoing case officer
reference, pay rates are on the Fair Work Ombudsman’s Pay calculator webpage.
Remuneration verification is intended to be a relatively ‘light touch’ processing check rather than an
exhaustive analysis of the applicant’s pay rate history. In the event an applicant clearly appears to
have been underpaid, or not paid at all, a higher level of scrutiny may be warranted. Identified
instances of inadequate remuneration should also subsequently be referred to the Fair Work
Ombudsman for investigation.
Specified work assessment
The specified work requirement should at minimum be assessed for all applications that are not
autogranted by checking that the:

ABN is genuine

applicant has spent the claimed weeks in Australia

work totals to a minimum of 88 days and

postcode is eligible.
Special care should be taken with non-electronic applications. The specified work assessment should
be recorded for all applicants in ICSE via the "Regional Employment" event (qualifier met or not met)
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Evidence of specified work
Evidence of specified work should be signed by, or originate, from the employer If the applicant has
been employed by a recruitment agency, that agency may also provide evidence of employment.
Acceptable evidence of specified work is:


original or certified copies of pay slips and
a completed employment verification form (form 1263) signed by the employer.
All specified work undertaken from 1 December 2015 onwards should be accompanied by pay slip
evidence, as per 417.211(5). Specified work undertaken before 1 December 2015 does not need to
be accompanied by pay slip evidence as a mandatory requirement.
The use of form 1263 is intended to be complementary to the provision of pay slips for specified work
performed from 1 December 2015 onwards, and the form can be provided in conjunction with pay
slips. Note that an applicant can choose to only provide pay slips as evidence of the specified work
they have performed – form 1263 is optional in such circumstances.
If form 1263 is used, the “Employment details” section of the form must be signed by the employer.
It cannot be signed by third parties such as backpacker organisations that do not employ the Working
Holiday visa holder, as allowing persons other than the actual employer to sign the form exposes the
Working Holiday program to a high risk of fraud. A backpacker organisation acting as a labour
supplier to a primary producer and paying the Working Holiday visa holder should sign form 1263.
Non-electronic applications should be accompanied by evidence of specified work. Internet applicants
provide this information in submitting form 1150E but should be requested to provide evidence if
their application is audited. Applications put forward for auditing by the system must undergo this
process. Although all audited applicants should be requested to provide a copy of form 1263 (or other
written evidence), specified work claims may be verified by contacting an employer before a form
1263 has been received. This method involves requesting employer details from the applicant and
may result in faster verification of claims. Client and employer contact should be recorded in ICSE. If
there are any indicators of concern, a decision should not be made before the written evidence is
received.
Other applications that may come to the officer’s attention may also be audited.
The focus of this audit should be on cases which have been identified as high risk (for example,
applicants of a particular sex/age from a particular country that have particular specified work
employers). For applications that are audited, officers should contact employers to check the details
provided. If the delegate is satisfied with the information provided, they may make a decision based
on the form 1263 alone. If specified work has been completed for multiple employers, it is acceptable
to verify work with only one employer in low risk cases provided there are no indicators of concern.
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If after a form 1263 Employment Verification has been requested from an applicant, the applicant
withdraws their second Working Holiday visa application without any genuine reason, a Client of
Interest note should be placed on the applicant’s ICSE record to flag possible fraudulent claims.
Note: The pay slip evidence requirement for all specified work performed 1 December 2015 onwards
will inform auditing processes and case officer decision-making.
Adverse third party information (including from employers)
If uncertain as to whether the work was undertaken (for example, because of poor record keeping by
the employer), delegates may request further information from the visa applicant.
If adverse information is received from a third party, such as the employer, this information must be
put to the applicant before a decision is made on the application - refer to PAM3: GenGuideA - All
visas - Visa application procedures - Adverse information. Adverse information includes information
from an employer that conflicts with the applicant's evidence of specified work.
The applicant should be given 28 days to respond (in addition to the statutory time for them to be
notified - refer to PAM3: GenGuideA - All visas - Visa application procedures - Communication of
Minister with applicant. The visa should be refused if

the applicant has not responded to the request within 28 days and all reasonable sources of
information (for example, helpdesk email inbox) have been checked to confirm that this information
has not been received and

the delegate is not satisfied on the basis of the information available that the applicant has
completed 3 months of specified work in regional Australia as required by 417.211(5).
If the accuracy of the specified work evidence is brought into question (for example, by a tip off)
after the visa has been granted, a delegate should reassess the evidence, including by contacting
employers. If, as a result of this reassessment, the delegate is not satisfied that the applicant has
carried out 3 months of specified work in regional Australian as required by 417.211(5), they should
begin the visa cancellation process by writing to the visa holder regarding the intention of the
department to consider cancelling the visa. (A relevant cancellation power might be s116(1)(g),
relying on "fraudulent grounds" specified by regulation 2.43(1)(o).) For more information about visa
cancellation procedures, refer to PAM3: Act - Visa cancellation - General visa cancellation powers
(s109, s116, s128, s134B and s140).
Regional Australia
Regional Australia is defined by postcodes listed in the Schedule 1 item 1225(5) ‘regional
Australia’ legislative instrument. For an applicant to meet the 3 month specified work requirement for
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a second Working Holiday visa, work must be completed in a postcode area included in the
instrument. Specified work completed in areas that do not meet the definition of regional Australia
cannot be counted towards the requirement.
As the end user is the employer, the postcode applies to the area where the work is performed (that
is, location of recruitment agency is irrelevant). If the property where specified work was undertaken
falls across multiple postcodes, that work may count towards the specified work
requirement if any part of the property on which the applicant actually worked lies within a postcode
listed in the instrument. The postcode of another property owned by the employer does not satisfy
the regional Australia requirement if the applicant did not actually perform specified work on that
property.
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