Australia will introduce a lottery system for second and third Working Holiday Maker visas, replacing the current guarantee of extension for those who meet work requirements. The change, announced by Minister for Home Affairs and Immigration Tony Burke on September 17, 2026, will cap second-year places at 45,000, down from roughly 57,000 who qualified the previous year, and third-year places at 5,000 against around 31,000 eligible candidates.
Working Holiday Lottery: What Changes
Under the current system, holders of Working Holiday (subclass 417) and Work and Holiday (subclass 462) visas can qualify for a second year by completing 88 days of eligible work, and a third year by completing six months of specific work. Meeting these conditions currently guarantees access to the next visa. Under the proposed changes, completing the work requirements will make a person eligible to enter a draw but will no longer guarantee a visa.
Burke was direct about the reasoning at the National Press Club on September 17: "Not everyone will get through, because we need to be able to exercise some control and have some visibility over these volumes." The 88-day work requirement for a second visa and the six-month requirement for a third will both remain in place, serving as a condition of entering the lottery, not a guarantee of a place in it.
Implementation and Legislative Hurdles
The Department of Home Affairs said that these broader reforms have begun rolling out and will continue to be implemented over the next twelve months. However, the lottery component specifically requires a legislative change that has not yet passed, meaning it is not currently in effect. Details on registration windows and the selection process have not been published.
The lottery announcement follows a price increase that took effect on July 1, 2026, which raised the cost of a first Working Holiday visa application to 840 Australian dollars. Second and third subclass 417 visas are currently listed at 1,000 AUD by the Department of Home Affairs.
Who Is Affected
French nationals holding subclass 417 visas, who are eligible up to age 35, would be directly affected by the lottery system once it becomes law. British passport holders occupy a different position. Since July 1, 2024, under the Australia-United Kingdom free trade agreement, British nationals can access up to three Working Holiday visas without completing the specific regional work periods. Burke acknowledged this exception during the September 17 presentation, though the government has not yet clarified how the new quota arrangements will interact with the provisions granted to British applicants.
The government also confirmed that Visitor visas will have a "No Further Stay" condition applied as a standard feature, preventing visitors from switching to other visa types while in Australia. This change is part of the broader reform package aimed at managing temporary migration volumes.
Legit.ng earlier reported on a separate policy, known as Transit Without Visa (TWOV), which allows eligible travellers from 70 countries to pass through Australia on their way to a third country without applying for an Australian visa, provided they meet a defined set of requirements.
