To help the economy address skills shortages, the Australian Government will make changes to several visa restrictions from 1 July 2023 for Student and Graduate Visa Holders, as well as Working Holiday Makers working in Australia.

Written by Sheila Woods (MARN: 0533879) of Interstaff  21 March, 2023

The changes will also impact businesses that employ these visa holders as they will enable:

• Eligible Graduate Visa Holders in the health, teaching, engineering and agricultural fields to live and work in Australia for an extra two years
• Temporary Graduate Visa Holders to continue work in Australia on a 408 Pandemic Event Visa if their visa is expiring
• Student Visa Holders to work up to 48 hours per fortnight when the working hours cap is reintroduced
• Working Holiday Makers (Subclass 417 and 462) to have a six month limit of work with the same employer when Condition 8547 is reinstated – however, work before 1 July 2023 won’t count towards their six month limit with the same employer.

Read on to find out more.

Certain Eligible Graduate Visa Holders can live and work in Australia for an extra 2 years

Certain eligible international students who graduated from an Australian higher education provider will soon be able to live and work in Australia for an extra two years by accessing extended post-study work rights from 1 July 2023.

The change applies to Subclass 485 Visa graduates with eligible occupations and qualifications in the health, teaching, engineering and agricultural fields.

These targeted skills will be reviewed annually and updated according to local labour market needs and indicates the way in which Australia may manage post-study work rights for international graduates in the future.

Details on how long these Graduate Visa holders can work in Australia from 1 July 2023 are below.

Temporary Graduate Visa Holders can continue work in Australia on a 408 Pandemic Event Visa

Subclass 485 Graduate Visa holders can apply for a two-year extension to their work rights through the Subclass 408 Pandemic Event Visa if their 485 visa is expiring before 1 July 2023 or they are not eligible to apply for a Subclass 485 extension on that date.

Subclass 408 visa applicants who held a Subclass 485 when they submitted their 408 visa application may also be granted a two year 408 visa.

Applicants must be working in Australia or have an offer of employment.

Student Visa Holders can work up to 48 hours per fortnight

In January 2022, the work cap for the Subclass 500 Student Visa was temporarily relaxed so that international students have been able to work unlimited hours.

However, from 1 July 2023, the cap will be reinstated at 48 hours per fortnight, which is an increase from the previous cap at 40 hours.

The cap increase will give international students the option to work more hours to support themselves and the economy without it affecting their visa status.

6 month limit with the same employer for Working Holiday Makers (Subclass 417 and 462 Visas)

The Government will reinstate Condition 8547 for Working Holiday Makers (Subclass 417 and 462) from 1 July 2023, and these visa holders will again be restricted from working with the same employer for more than six months.

However, the change will not be applied retrospectively, which means any work carried out by Working Holiday Makers before 1 July 2023 will not contribute towards their 6-month limit with the same employer. These particular visa holders will therefore be able to continue working with the same employer for an extra six months from 1 July 2023.

This also applies to Bridging Visa holders who may be subject to Condition 8547.

Established in 1988, Interstaff has over 35 years of Australian visa and migration experience and provides strategic immigration advice to businesses and individuals Australia-wide and internationally. MARN: 0533879.