Several policy changes and a strong labour market have led to a surge in working holidaymakers, setting new records and soaring above pre-COVID levels. Dr Abul Rizvi reports.
THE WORKING holidaymaker contribution to net migration blew all previous records out of the water, at 89,950 in 2022-23 and 72,480 in 2023-24. (Working holidaymakers consist of two types of visas — the demand-driven SC 417 based on the older agreements and the more restricted SC 462 Work and Holiday visa for new agreement countries.)
That happened because of a mixture of policy changes including enabling working holidaymakers to extend stay, more working holidaymaker agreements and a strong labour market. Without substantial policy tightening, the working holidaymaker contribution to net migration will remain well above pre-COVID records.
The highest working holidaymaker contribution to net migration pre-COVID was 38,900 in 2011-12 and 38,400 in 2012-13. That fell to 23,900 in 2014-15 and 22,640 in 2015-16 as the unemployment rate increased to around 6% but remained low in most source nations (mainly in Western Europe).
The weaker Australian labour market meant fewer working holidaymakers arrived and more went home after a first year in Australia. The working holidaymaker contribution to net migration kept falling during the pandemic when international borders were closed.
The Coalition Government responded to the decline and complaints about labour shortages from business lobby groups as well as pressure from tourism lobby groups by:
- increasing the maximum age for most working holidaymaker (SC 417) agreements from 30 to 35;
- introducing the opportunity for a third working holidaymaker visa;
- widening the areas in which working holidaymakers could work to access a second and third working holiday visa;
- allowing working holidaymakers from the UK to access an automatic three-year working holidaymaker visa;
- introducing for a short period in early 2022 the opportunity for a fee-free working holidaymaker visa;
- increasing caps on the Working and Holiday visa by 30% for 2022-23; and
- continuing to negotiate additional work and holiday visa agreements.
Most of the above changes have been retained by the Labor Government. In addition, a new 1,000-place work and holiday agreement with India has been implemented.
In 2023-24, 154,704 first Working Holiday visas (SC 417) were granted. This is a 9.6% increase compared to 141,135 in 2022-23.
The top five countries for first Working Holiday visa grants were:
- United Kingdom (40,253);
- France (25,079);
- Ireland (14,915);
- Japan (14,290); and
- South Korea (11,956).
Also in 2023-24, 34,494 second Working Holiday visas were granted. This is a 130.2% increase compared to 14,987 in 2022-23.
The top five countries for second Working Holiday visa grants were:
- Ireland (6,390);
- United Kingdom (6,300);
- Taiwan (4,499);
- France (4,343); and
- Italy (3,305).
In 2023-24, 4,712 third Working Holiday visas were granted. This is a 25.7% decrease compared to 3,749 in 2022-23.
The top five countries or regions for third Working Holiday (subclass 417) visa grants were:
- Taiwan (1,090);
- Ireland (689);
- United Kingdom (681);
- France (580); and
- Italy (437).
In future, very few UK nationals will be granted second and third Working Holiday visas as they now automatically get a three-year visa.
In 2023-24, 24,939 first Work and Holiday visas (SC 462) were granted. This is a 27.6% decrease compared to 34,464 in 2022-23.
The top five countries for first Work and Holiday (subclass 462) visa grants were:
- United States of America (4,763);
- Indonesia (4,578);
- Spain (2,363);
- Argentina (2,170); and
- Thailand (1,977).
In 2023-24, 12,844 second Work and Holiday visas were granted. This is a 116.3% increase compared to 5,938 in 2022-23.
The top five countries for second Work and Holiday visa grants were:
- Indonesia (3,516);
- Argentina (1,701);
- Vietnam (1,406);
- Thailand (1,392); and
- China (1,307).
In 2023-24, 2,849 third Work and Holiday visas were granted. This is a 63.1% increase compared to 1,747 in 2022-23.
The top five countries for third Work and Holiday visa grants were:
- Indonesia (922);
- Vietnam (790);
- China (299);
- Thailand (295); and
- Argentina (168).
The rate at which working holidaymakers are taking up second and third working holidaymaker visas continues to set new records. This has meant the overall stock of working holidaymakers in Australia continues to rise constantly, setting new records. It is now over 213,000.
If Australia’s labour market remains relatively strong, the working holidaymaker contribution to net migration will remain well above pre-COVID records. Neither major political party appears to have taken that into consideration in setting their respective net migration forecasts. Treasury appears to be expecting a large and rapid increase in working holidaymaker departures.
Dr Abul Rizvi is an Independent Australia columnist and a former Deputy Secretary of the Department of Immigration. You can follow Abul on Twitter @RizviAbul.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Australia License
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