Working Holiday Visa Ballot for Second and Third Years: What Has Been Announced

Status as at 12 October 2026

- Measure: ballot for second and third Working Holiday Maker visas, with caps of 45,000 (year two) and 5,000 (year three).
- Status: announced on 17 September 2026. No instrument made. No start date published.
- Where it was announced: the Minister's National Press Club speech and the media release of the same day, repeated on the Home Affairs "Australian Government migration policy changes" page.
- Official visa pages: the Home Affairs pages for the second and third Working Holiday (subclass 417) visas and the Work and Holiday (subclass 462) visas, updated 23 and 24 September 2026, contain no ballot wording.
- What is live now: an administrative change to processing times for most working holiday applications, described by Home Affairs as "around three months". That is a processing practice, not a rule change.

Nothing on this page should be read as saying the ballot is in force. Until an instrument is made, the existing rules for second and third visas apply.

What the Minister said

In the speech, Mr Burke said: "we will be going to a ballot system for years two and three. To qualify for the ballot, you will still have to meet the criteria that you currently have to meet in terms of the regional work. So, to qualify for your second year you have to do 88 days in the regions. To qualify for your third year, you have to do six months. That won't change. But what you will be qualifying for is a ballot."

On the caps he said: "The ballot for year two will be limited to 45,000. For reference, last year there were 57,000 people who qualified." And: "We'll be seriously limiting year three down to a ballot system of 5,000. Now, last year there were 31,000 in this group."

The media release of 17 September 2026 describes the change in one line: "Changing the Working Holiday Maker Program to introduce a ballot system for years two and three where there will be a regional work requirement in support of regional Australia." The release adds that the government "will also stabilise processing times for Working Holiday Maker applications to three months."

In the question and answer session after the speech, as published on the Minister's own website, Mr Burke said "the section where you get the definite drop-off in significant numbers is actually year three."

The speech gives the problem as one of numbers. It notes that "last year the contribution of backpackers to net overseas migration was 48,000." That is the Minister's figure, stated in the speech, and we have not checked it against a separate published series.

How second and third working holiday visas work now

Under the current rules, a first Working Holiday (subclass 417) visa holder can apply for a second visa after completing specified work, and a second-visa holder can apply for a third visa after completing more specified work. Home Affairs states the requirement as "3 months of specified subclass 417 work" for the second visa and 6 months for the third. The speech describes the same requirements as "88 days in the regions" and "six months". We use the Home Affairs wording for the current rules and attribute the "88 days" figure to the speech.

Specified work is defined by industry, place and date. Home Affairs publishes the eligible work types, dates and postcodes on its website. For the Work and Holiday (subclass 462) visa, the Home Affairs program report describes the same two-step structure, with three months of specified subclass 462 work for the second visa and six months for the third.

Home Affairs states that a Working Holiday visa holder can currently stay three years in total, made up of three separate 12-month visas. That has not been announced as changing.

There is one important exception in the current rules. UK passport holders who apply on or after 1 July 2024 can be granted a second or third Working Holiday (subclass 417) visa without meeting the specified work requirement. Our page on UK and Irish working holiday makers covers this.

Each of these rules is unchanged by any instrument as at 12 October 2026.

What the published Home Affairs data shows

The Minister's figures of 57,000 and 31,000 are described in the speech as the number who "qualified" last year. The speech does not give a source for them. The Home Affairs Working Holiday Maker program reports (publication BR0110) count visas granted in six-month periods. They do not count people who qualified, so the two are not like for like.

The headline totals in the two most recent reports we read are below. Periods are six months and are labelled as the reports label them.

- Second Working Holiday (417) visas granted: 29,639 in the six months to 30 June 2025; 31,622 in the six months to 31 December 2025.
- Third Working Holiday (417) visas granted: 14,034 in the six months to 30 June 2025; 18,377 in the six months to 31 December 2025.
- Second Work and Holiday (462) visas granted: 9,516 in the six months to 30 June 2025; 8,163 in the six months to 31 December 2025.
- Third Work and Holiday (462) visas granted: 3,723 in the six months to 30 June 2025; 5,870 in the six months to 31 December 2025.

Adding the two six-month totals gives a figure for the 12 months to 31 December 2025: 61,261 second 417 visas and 32,411 third 417 visas, plus 17,679 second 462 visas and 9,593 third 462 visas. These sums are ours. We have not reconciled the reports with each other. The June 2025 report mixes full-year country figures with six-month totals and repeats some 462 application figures that also appear in the December report, so treat the numbers as indicative.

For applications, the December 2025 report records that second 417 applications lodged in the six months to 31 December 2025 fell 22.4 per cent to 33,530, and third 417 applications rose 80.7 per cent to 20,536.

Neither the speech nor the release says whether the 45,000 and 5,000 caps would cover the 417 and the 462 together or one of them. That is not decided in anything published.

What has not been announced

The announcement leaves a number of basic questions open. As at 12 October 2026, none of these has been answered in a primary source:

- the start date, and whether it applies by date of application or date of grant
- how the ballot would be run, and how often
- whether a person who has already completed the regional work and lodged an application would be inside the ballot
- how a person who completed the work but loses the ballot would be treated, including whether they could enter a later ballot
- whether the ballot covers the 462 as well as the 417, as the release refers to the Working Holiday Maker Program without naming subclasses
- how UK passport holders are treated, which is covered on our separate page
- the legal mechanism, since neither the speech nor the release says whether it would be done by regulation, by an instrument or by another means

The Minister said that the reforms announced "are not as comprehensive as I would like them to be" because some levers need legislation. He did not say that the working holiday ballot needs new legislation. We found no bill dealing with it.

Home Affairs has run pre-application ballots before. The first-year Work and Holiday (462) visa for China, India and Vietnam works that way, and on 23 September 2026 Home Affairs said ballot registrations for a first 462 visa for Indonesia "are expected to open later in 2026". Those are separate arrangements and are not the second and third year ballot. Our page on the 462 ballot for China, India and Vietnam explains the existing scheme.

Who is not affected, and what is not changing

Based on the sources:

- First-year Working Holiday and Work and Holiday visas: the announcement concerns years two and three. It does not describe any change to the first visa.
- The regional work requirement: the Minister said it "won't change".
- The six-month limit with one employer (condition 8547) and the study limit: nothing in the announcement refers to them.
- People who already hold a visa: the announcement does not describe any change to a visa already granted. A ballot is by its nature a rule about future applications, but the transitional treatment has not been published.
- Free trade agreement arrangements: in the question and answer session Mr Burke said "We are working within all free trade agreements in everything that I've said."

One change that is already law affects working holiday makers. From 2 October 2026, holders of Working Holiday (417) and Work and Holiday (462) visas are among 17 classes of visa holder who must apply from outside Australia for a Student (500) or Student Guardian (590) visa. That is in a legislative instrument, LIN 26/102. It is a student visa change and is covered on our student visa pages.

Processing times: what is live

On 23 September 2026 Home Affairs said: "The number of Working Holiday Makers is at a record level. To manage high demand and support the long-term sustainability of the WHM program, we are normalising processing timeframes for most WHM visa applications. The average processing time is expected to be around three months."

Home Affairs pages for the Working Holiday and Work and Holiday visas carry a banner with the same message and add: "Do not book flights or make travel, work or study commitments until we grant your visa."

The Minister's speech described the pace as restored "for those ones that have the regional requirement to be able to get years two and three", and said the UK is "still in the case where we will be processing at the speed we've been processing the last few years". Home Affairs' own wording refers to "most" applications. Processing time estimates are a guide only and move.

How others have responded

The Coalition set out its migration policy on 6 October 2026. ABC reported that it would scrap Labor's second- and third-year working holiday caps and raise fees instead, with exemptions for people who completed their regional work. That is a report of an opposition policy, not a law. Our page comparing the parties' positions covers it.

What to watch

As at 12 October 2026, the signs that the ballot is moving from announcement to rule would be:

- a legislative instrument or regulation on legislation.gov.au dealing with second or third Working Holiday or Work and Holiday visas
- ballot wording on the Home Affairs second and third visa pages or the Working Holiday Maker latest news page
- a start date and transitional rules
- a bill, if the government concludes that legislation is needed

This page will be updated when any of those appear. A registered migration agent can assess how a published rule applies to an individual's circumstances. Until a rule is published, there is nothing to assess.

Is the working holiday ballot in force?

No. It was announced on 17 September 2026. As at 12 October 2026 no regulation or instrument has been made, no start date has been published, and the Home Affairs second and third visa pages do not mention a ballot.

How many places will there be in the ballot?

The Minister said the second-year ballot would be limited to 45,000 and the third-year ballot to 5,000. These are announced figures. The sources do not say whether they cover the 417 and 462 together.

Do I still have to do regional work to qualify?

The Minister said the regional work requirement does not change and that completing it qualifies a person for the ballot. Home Affairs currently states 3 months of specified work for a second visa and 6 months for a third. The speech used the figures 88 days and six months.

Does the ballot apply to the Work and Holiday (462) visa?

Not stated. The media release refers to the Working Holiday Maker Program, which includes both subclasses, but neither the speech nor the release names the 417 or the 462. No instrument exists yet.

Does the ballot apply to UK passport holders?

The announcement does not say in terms. UK passport holders who apply on or after 1 July 2024 do not need specified work for a second or third 417 visa. See our page on UK and Irish working holiday makers for what is and isn't known.

Where do the 57,000 and 31,000 figures come from?

They are the Minister's figures for people who qualified last year. The speech gives no source. Home Affairs program reports count visas granted in six-month periods, so the numbers are not directly comparable.

Are working holiday processing times really three months?

Home Affairs said on 23 September 2026 that it is normalising processing for most working holiday applications and that the average is expected to be around three months. It also says published times are a guide only.