Australia to Expand Work and Travel Program

The Australian Work and Travel Program, which enables young people from different countries to work temporarily in Australia, will be expanded in the coming years to include, among others, India, Brazil, Mexico and the Philippines.

The Australian government cited the ongoing labor crunch in rural Australia for the move. Despite the number of working holiday makers rising by 20 percent in 2018 alone, reaching 43,000 people, problems for businesses in rural Australia to fill positions persist. While the young workers can choose any field during their stay, work in rural areas and in the agricultural industries is incentivized.

The scheme known as work and travel is actually two programs. Subclass 417 (working holiday) visas were first given out in 1975, then only to young citizens of the UK, Ireland and Canada. Between 1980 and 2006 several European nations, as well as Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan, were added to the list. In 2003, the Australian government started a new visa type, subclass 462 (work and holiday), for which participants must fulfil additional education (tertiary) and English language proficiency requirements. Until 2017, 25 countries were added. These are mostly located in the Americas, Asia and Eastern Europe. The countries to be added to the scheme will also fall under the 462 visa category.