The student visa 48-hour work cap, explained

The rule: 48 hours per fortnight, while your course is in session

Condition 8105 limits most student visa holders to 48 hours of paid work in any fortnight while their course is in session — that is, during teaching weeks, not scheduled breaks. A fortnight is a 14-day period; the limit applies to the total across that period, not a fixed weekly average, so working 30 hours one week and 18 the next is fine as long as the fortnight total stays at or under 48.

The cap counts every job together. If you have two casual roles, the hours from both are added up — you can't work 48 hours at one employer and another 48 at a second and call it compliant. Most employers check work rights via VEVO (Visa Entitlement Verification Online), but the cap itself isn't enforced by any single employer seeing the full picture; it's on you to track your own total across all jobs.

As at 2026 the cap is 48 hours. There has been public discussion of raising it to 60 hours per fortnight, reported as a proposal from a 2025 Parliamentary Budget Office costing exercise, but no legislative instrument has changed the figure — the 48-hour cap in Schedule 8 of the Migration Regulations remains current. Check your grant notice and the Home Affairs website before relying on a higher number you've seen quoted elsewhere.

No cap during scheduled course breaks

Once your course goes into a scheduled break — the between-semester period your institution publishes as a formal recess, not just a week where you happen to have fewer classes — condition 8105 stops applying and you can work unlimited hours for the duration of that break.

The distinction that trips people up is 'in session' versus 'out of session' as defined by your institution's official academic calendar, not your personal timetable. A light timetable week that's still within the teaching period doesn't lift the cap; only a formally scheduled break does. If you're unsure whether a given week counts as in-session, your institution's international student office can confirm the dates against the official calendar.

The masters-by-research and doctoral exemption

Students enrolled in a masters degree by research or a doctorate have no work-hour cap at all — unlimited hours apply from the day the course commences, in session or not. This is a genuine, permanent exemption written into condition 8105, not a break-period technicality.

The exemption extends to family members included on the same visa. If the primary applicant is studying a masters by research, a masters by coursework, or a doctorate, their dependent family members (partner and children of working age) can also work unlimited hours once the primary applicant's course has started. Family members of students in other course types remain capped at 48 hours per fortnight under the mirrored condition 8104.

If you're not sure whether your specific degree is classified as 'by research' for this purpose — some masters programs blend coursework and research components — your institution's enrolment record is the authoritative source, not the degree's marketing name.

What happens if you breach the cap

Working beyond 48 hours in a fortnight during term time is a breach of a visa condition, and visa conditions being breached is something Home Affairs can act on — up to and including visa cancellation under section 116 of the Migration Act. In practice, enforcement tends to follow a pattern (employer reporting, a data-matching flag, or a breach surfacing during a later visa application) rather than hour-by-hour monitoring, but that doesn't make the condition optional.

A single, brief, inadvertent overage is a different situation from a sustained pattern of ignoring the cap, and Home Affairs does have discretion in how it responds. But this is exactly the kind of judgement call — how a specific breach on a specific visa history is likely to be treated — that a general article can't resolve for you. If you think you may have gone over the cap, the safer move is to stop, keep a record of your hours going forward, and get a MARA-registered migration agent to look at your specific situation before it affects a future application. On Migratio you describe your situation once and compare consultation fees from MARA-registered agents (comparing is free; consults are typically $150–$300 and you pay only if you book).

Common mistakes worth avoiding

Averaging across a longer period than a fortnight. 'I worked 60 hours this fortnight but only 30 the next, so it averages out' is not how condition 8105 works — each fortnight is assessed on its own total, not smoothed across a month or a semester.

Assuming unpaid work doesn't count. Genuine unpaid volunteer work for a registered charity is generally treated differently from paid work, but unpaid trial shifts, 'internships' that are really unpaid labour for a for-profit business, and cash-in-hand arrangements are not automatically exempt just because no payslip exists.

Forgetting to re-check the cap after a course change. Changing course, provider, or study load can change your visa conditions or your session dates — see our guide on changing course on a student visa for what else that affects.

Assuming your dependent family member's work rights mirror yours automatically. Their cap (condition 8104) is linked to your course type, not theirs, and only starts once your course has actually commenced.

How many hours can I work on a student visa in 2026?

48 hours per fortnight while your course is in session, under condition 8105 — unchanged as at 2026. There's no cap during scheduled course breaks. A proposal to raise the limit to 60 hours has been publicly discussed but not legislated, so don't rely on it until it appears on your actual grant conditions.

How is a 'fortnight' counted for the 48-hour rule?

As a 14-day period, with your total hours across every job you hold added together. It isn't a weekly average — working more in one week and less in the next within the same fortnight is fine, but the two-week total must stay at or under 48.

Can I work unlimited hours if I'm doing a masters by research?

Yes. Masters-by-research and doctoral students have no work-hour cap at all, from the day their course starts. Their dependent family members get the same unlimited-hours treatment once the primary applicant's course has commenced.

Does the 48-hour cap apply during university holidays?

No. Once your institution's official academic calendar shows your course as being on a scheduled break, condition 8105 doesn't apply and you can work unlimited hours until term resumes.

What happens if I go over 48 hours a fortnight?

It's a breach of a visa condition, which can lead to visa cancellation. How seriously any individual breach is treated depends on the circumstances and Home Affairs' discretion — this is worth discussing with a MARA-registered migration agent rather than guessing, especially if it might affect a future visa application.