How to apply for a 2nd or 3rd WHV to Australia (full guide)

Working holiday makers used to ask their employers to fill in Form “Employment Verification” – 1263 and list their periods of work on a single document. This form no longer exists. We assume that former working holiday makers who have a copy of their filled form could provide it as proof of their periods of work.

If you went for your first or second WHV to Australia more recently, you will need to gather other types of evidence:

• payslips
• a written contract, indicating whether you are paid by the piecework rate or by the hour
• references from employers
• an original bank statement (from an Australian bank) that matches the declared period of work and shows the wages you received.

Your former employers may be contacted by the government to check that the information you have provided is correct.

If there is any doubt as to whether you have completed 88 or 179 days of specific work, the Department of Home Affairs may refuse to issue you a second or third Working Holiday Visa.

Fraud and the risks involved

If you provide the Australian government with false information and they find out, you won’t be eligible to apply for any further visas for Australia and you could be inadmissible for up to 3 years. This is no idle threat. Some working holiday makers are inadmissible because they provided fake proof of specified work.

Note that a number of countries ask if you were ever refused a visa or entry to a country. It will be tricky to explain why and no one will feel sorry for you.

Think about the risks involved before embarking on a misleading visa application.

When is volunteer work (Workaway, WWOOFing, HelpX) eligible?

To be eligible for a second or third Working Holiday Visa in Australia, any work carried out since December 1, 2015, must be remunerated in compliance with Australian employment laws. If this is not the case, work periods are not counted towards your eligibility. However, there is one exception: as of February 17, 2020, volunteering can be counted towards your 88 or 179 days of specified work if it contributes to recovery work in bushfire-affected areas in Australia.

What if I volunteered before December 1, 2015, or after 2020?

If you volunteered at a time when volunteer work could be counted towards your eligibility for a second Working Holiday Visa, or if you contributed to the reconstruction of areas affected by fires in 2020, you should be able to apply for your second or third Working Holiday Visa, provided you have sufficient proof of this work.

Examples of proof:

• Form 1263 “Employment Verification,” completed by your supervisors (if you were on a working holiday several years ago, when this form was used).
• A letter from your supervisor specifying the work period, the number of days worked and the tasks performed.
• Pictures of you at work and with your hosts.
• A photo of the guestbook page if you left a message specifying the dates you were present.
• If you have a blog or were active on Facebook or Instagram, you may be able to find proof of your work experience, names of the people you worked with, etc.
• Receipts from the store in town, the nearest ATM, the gas station, or even the bus or train ticket you took to the farm (if you booked online, you may have a confirmation email somewhere in your mailbox).

WWOOFing experiences

If you had a WWOOFing experience before November 30, 2015, your work days will be counted, whether or not your host has an Australian Business Number (ABN). WWOOF states that:

Hosts do not need to be a commercial operation or hold an ABN to sign your form, but you cannot lodge the form online if they do not have an ABN, you need to mail your completed form to:
2nd WHM Centre
Cairns Regional Office
Department of Immigration and Citizenship
GPO Box 1269
Cairns QUEENSLAND 4870
AUSTRALIA

According to WWOOF, the only issue is that if you worked on a farm that doesn’t have an ABN you won’t be able to send your form digitally. You’ll have to send it, along with your application form, to the Department of Immigration and Border Control (DIPB) in Cairns.

Since volunteers don’t have payslips or records of wages, the Department of Home Affairs tends to check eligibility more carefully. Make sure to provide plenty of informal proof of your WWOOFing experience. Note that you must have worked at least 35 hours per week for the work experience to be eligible.

HelpX experiences

Work experiences don’t seem to count towards your eligibility for a second or third Working Holiday Visa if your host doesn’t have an ABN.

What if I was paid cash?

If you’ve worked on farms and were paid in cash without filling in Form 1263, you could have been hired under the table (knowingly or unknowingly).

In any case, you’ll need to contact your former employers to find out. If your income was reported, your employers may send you pay slips or other proof of your work days.