What is Australia’s work and holiday visa for Indians under 30?

In a significant move to strengthen ties between Australia and India, Australian Assistant Minister for Immigration Matt Thistlethwaite on Monday announced the launch of the Working Holiday Maker Visa during his visit to New Delhi.

The Minister noted that the programme is an opportunity for young members of the Indian community to be able to experience Australian life and culture.

Here’s all we know about it.

What is it?

Under a Working Holiday Maker visa, young people from India can visit Australia for one year, and work or study short-term while holidaying.

Each programme year, Australia may grant a First Work and Holiday (subclass 462) visa to up to 1,000 eligible Indian citizens aged between 18 and 30.

On September 16, India officially joined the initiative, becoming the 50th Working Holiday Maker partner country.

This partnership was reached under the Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (AI-ECTA).

The visa ballot process opened on October 1 and already 40,000 young Indians have applied to update this visa.

Besides India, the Australian Government is implementing a visa pre-application (ballot) process for this visa for China and Vietnam.

How does it work?

Eligible Indian passport holders can submit an online registration for the visa ballot from October 1–31.

Notably, one can only register once in each ballot process, while the registration period is open for their country’s ballot.

The Australian immigration authorities will conduct random selections of registrations from October 14–April 30, 2025. Those randomly selected to apply will be notified by email.

The visa costs $650.

“People can pay $25 to apply for the ballot process. The ballot is randomly selected by a computer. So, there is no human involvement at all. Health and character checks will be undertaken for those applicants to ensure their eligibility,” Thistlethwaite said.

Who is eligible?

Indians between the ages of 18 and 30 (inclusive) are eligible for the ballot.

Along with a valid passport, the person also needs to hold a national identity card, i.e., a PAN card for Indian passport holders.

One can be in or outside Australia when you register, but if the person is selected, they can only apply for a first Work and Holiday visa from outside Australia.

How to register?

Eligible Chinese, Indian and Vietnamese passport holders can complete a ‘Visa pre-application registration’ form under ‘New application’ in ImmiAccount to register for a ballot:

ImmiAccount allows people to save the registration form as a draft once they have entered the required details and press “save.”

The registration status will appear as ‘draft’ in ImmiAccount.

One must ensure they pay the registration fee and submit the saved registration form before the registration period closes.

If the person fails to do so, they will not be part of the ballot selection process.

How will it benefit Indians?

Assistant Minister for Immigration, Matt Thistlethwaite, says the Working Holiday visa will help young Indians to experience the “Australian lifestyle and culture.”

“Just about every Indian that comes to Australia knows someone there. Almost a million people who live in Australia and are our citizens are inclined to Indian heritage and it’s one of the fastest growing diasporas in our country, and this is just another opportunity for young Indians to come to our country, to experience our culture, to get to know and to grow friendships with Australians.”

He noted that it is a temporary visa, but it gives them a taste of what life in Australia is like. He further said that the people can then come back and apply for a student visa, or come back and apply for a skilled visa, or one of the other visas that he is about to launch later this week.

He also informed that there are no restrictions on the jobs that one can apply for. “You can work in any industry in Australia. What we tend to find is that people tend to work in hospitality industries, such as this great cafe here.”

“There’s opportunities for people to work in the agricultural sector, all different industries across Australia. But there’s also the opportunity to study. They can study under the Working Holiday Maker visa for a short period of time, as well. To improve your English language skills, to get experience in the vocational area, to take on a short course. Those opportunities are all available under this visa. The most important thing about it is, it’s an opportunity to come to Australia, to have a bit of fun, to learn about our culture, and to experience Australian life,” he further said.

For further information, please follow the link:
New Work and Holiday (subclass 462) visa pre-application process (homeaffairs.gov.au).