From a Working Holiday Visa to 482 Employer Sponsorship

How the transition typically works

The 482 is employer-driven, which makes this transition different from points-tested pathways: you cannot apply for a 482 on your own. Three approvals are involved. First, the business must be an approved sponsor (or apply to become one) — known as standard business sponsorship. Second, the business lodges a nomination for a specific occupation and position, at a salary that meets the published threshold. Third, the worker lodges the visa application itself.

For a working holiday maker, the typical sequence is: prove yourself in the job, have the sponsorship conversation early, and then let the employer's process run — which can take longer than people expect, especially if the business has never sponsored anyone and needs to obtain sponsorship approval first. Labour market testing requirements generally apply to nominations — the Department's published standard is at least 2 valid advertisements for the role, run for a combined total of at least 4 weeks within the 4 months before the nomination is lodged. Because each stage has its own requirements and processing time, starting the conversation months before the working holiday visa ends is the pattern that tends to work; starting it weeks before is where things get tight.

Condition 8547: the six-month rule

Working Holiday and Work and Holiday visas are generally granted subject to condition 8547, which limits the holder to six months of work with any one employer without permission. The six months is calculated on a calendar basis from the first day of employment with that employer.

The Department publishes two ways this can extend. Some industries are covered by published exemptions, which have varied over time — check the current list on the Home Affairs website rather than relying on what applied in a previous year. Outside the exempt settings, a working holiday maker can request permission from the Department to work longer than six months with the same employer, using the Department's online request form. The Department's published guidance says to submit the request at least 2 weeks before the 6 months expires, and in any case before the initial 6-month period lapses; once it's submitted, the person can keep working for the same employer while they wait for a written outcome. For someone hoping to be sponsored, this matters directly: the sponsorship process often takes longer than the time remaining under 8547, so the six-month clock and the permission process need to be managed alongside the nomination timeline.

The criteria the Department publishes for the 482

The Skills in Demand visa has three streams: Core Skills, Specialist Skills and Labour Agreement. Most working holiday conversions run through the Core Skills stream, where the Department's published requirements include: an occupation on the Core Skills Occupation List (CSOL); at least one year of relevant work experience in the nominated occupation or a related field; a salary arrangement that meets the Core Skills Income Threshold (CSIT), which was set at $79,423 from 1 July 2026 and indexes each July — check the current figure; and minimum English language results, which the Department publishes by stream and test.

The Specialist Skills stream sits above a much higher income threshold and is not occupation-list based in the same way. Some occupations and passport combinations also require a skills assessment at the visa stage — the Department publishes which ones. None of this is assessed on vibes: experience must be evidenced, the salary must be genuine and meet the threshold for the role, and the nomination must satisfy genuine-position requirements. How a specific work history — including whether work done on the working holiday itself counts as relevant experience — stacks up against these criteria is a question worth putting to a MARA-registered agent before anyone resigns, relocates or promises anything.

What happens to your status in between

If the 482 application is lodged while the working holiday visa is still in effect, the working holiday visa keeps operating as normal until it expires — including condition 8547. Lodging a 482 application does not switch off the six-month limitation; permission or an exemption is still needed to keep working for the same employer past six months while the application processes.

When a valid onshore application is lodged by someone holding a substantive visa, a bridging visa is generally granted and comes into effect if the working holiday visa ceases before the 482 is decided. Bridging visa conditions are set at grant and often reflect the circumstances of the visa held at lodgement, so they should never be assumed — the grant notice and VEVO are the authoritative record, and both worker and employer should check them before relying on ongoing work rights. Employers can verify a worker's current entitlements through VEVO. If the working holiday visa expires before the 482 is even lodged, the situation is materially different and harder, and options at that point are firmly in registered-agent territory.

Common complications

The complications in this transition cluster in predictable places. The occupation problem: many jobs working holiday makers actually hold do not map cleanly to an occupation on the CSOL, and the nominated occupation must genuinely reflect the role, not be chosen for visa convenience. Hospitality is a common example — Cook and Chef are both on the CSOL and can support a 482 nomination, but Cafe or Restaurant Manager is on the Short-Term Skilled Occupation List only and has no 482 pathway at all, so the exact job title and duties matter, not just the industry. The salary problem: the offer must meet the income threshold current at nomination as well as market rate requirements for the role. The experience problem: at least one year of relevant experience must be evidenced, and informal or cash-adjacent work histories can be hard to document. The employer problem: a business that is not yet an approved sponsor adds weeks or months to the timeline, and some employers underestimate their own obligations, including the Skilling Australians Fund levy that sponsoring businesses pay.

There is also the timing squeeze: the six-month 8547 limit, the visa expiry date, and second or third working holiday visa options all interact. Some people qualify for another working holiday year through specified work and use it as runway; whether that is available depends on the published specified-work rules for their visa and passport. A MARA-registered migration agent can look at the whole picture — occupation, salary, experience evidence, employer status and dates — and tell you what the current criteria actually require in your case. Migratio can match you with agents who work on employer-sponsored cases.

Can my employer keep me on past six months while sponsorship is being organised?

Condition 8547 limits work with one employer to six months unless a published exemption applies or the Department grants permission. The Department's guidance says to submit a permission request at least 2 weeks before the 6 months expires, and you can keep working for that employer while a submitted request awaits a written outcome. Check the current exemption settings on the Home Affairs website.

Does work I did on my working holiday count toward the one year of experience?

The Core Skills stream requires at least one year of relevant work experience in the nominated occupation or a related field. Whether particular work counts depends on what it involved and how it is evidenced, not on the visa it was done on. How a specific history is likely to be assessed is a question for a MARA-registered agent.

What happens if my working holiday visa expires while the 482 is processing?

If a valid 482 application was lodged while you still held the working holiday visa, a bridging visa generally comes into effect when the working holiday visa ceases, letting you remain lawfully while the application is decided. Its conditions are set at grant — check the grant notice and VEVO rather than assuming, particularly regarding work.

Does the employer or the worker pay the 482 costs?

The rules allocate certain costs to the sponsoring business — including sponsorship and nomination costs and the Skilling Australians Fund levy, which businesses cannot pass on to the worker. The visa application charge itself is a separate component. The current figures are published on the Home Affairs website and change over time.