Gap Year Travels? Try Australia

Significant changes to Australia’s popular Working Holiday Maker Visa came into effect 1 July 2006 making it easier for young Brits to travel Down Under for a year – or even two. The visa allows UK passport holders between the ages of 18 and 30 the unique opportunity to work in Australia in order to supplement a year of travels.

The recent changes give holiday makers the opportunity to work and study for longer in Australia and the chance to extend their Working Holiday Maker (WHM) visa for another year by offering an increased selection of seasonal jobs in regional areas. Significantly, it has also made the visa more attractive to career-breakers looking to a year out from their work life to either try something new, or travel.

‘After a few years in the work force, young professional are often frustrated, feeling burnt out or disillusioned with their career choice and want to take a year out. The WHM visa is a good solution because you don’t need to dip into your savings to travel – you work to travel,’ said Oonagh Baerveldt, spokesperson for the Australian Visa Bureau. ‘So if you’ve ever thought of working in fashion for example, now is a great time to get 6 months’ experience in a new market and see a little sun in the winter months too!’

‘The ability to work in the same job for 6 months means travellers can choose to be transient or settled whereas before they were looking for a new job every 3 months,’ said Baerveldt. ‘This ‘new and improved visa’ is ideal for travellers who are looking for a career change and want to spend some time studying and some time gaining practical experience.’

‘In the last 12 months or so we’ve seen a significant increase in the number of young professionals taking career breaks, although the primary group of applicants for this visa have traditionally been young gap year students, university students and adventure seekers,’ said Baerveldt.

Currently, Working Holiday Maker (WHM) visas allow for:

• the ability to work for any one employer for 6 months anywhere in Australia;
• the ability to study for 4 months;
• increased selection of seasonal jobs in regional areas; leading to a second working holiday visa of an additional 12 months

‘‘Anyone interested in taking a year or two out in Australia under the Working Holiday Maker visa program should visit www.visabureau.com and complete the WHM Online Assessment to make sure they meet all of the requirements,’ said Baerveldt.

Australian Working Holiday Maker Visas are available to passport holders from 11 different countries, including the United Kingdome and Ireland. Visa applicants must be between the ages of 18-30 (inclusive), have no dependent children and must be able to support themselves financially for the duration of their trip to Australia.

The Australian Government issued 93, 760 working holiday visas in 2003/4; of those 47, 321 were to UK and Irish nationals.