Complete guide to specified work in Australia (for 2nd and 3rd WHVs)

One of the biggest challenges when it comes to understanding the rules of specified work is how to calculate the 88 or 179 mandatory days.

The Australian government states that you must complete: “the same number of normal work days or shifts as a full-time employee in that role and industry would normally work in an 88 calendar day or 179 calendar day period.”

If you calculate incorrectly and do not accurately complete at least 88 days for the Second WHV or 179 days for the Third WHV, you will not be eligible. Working for the correct number of days is just as important as making sure the type of job and the location counts for specified work!

You can complete your 88 or 179 days of work in one go or over several time periods throughout your current WHV. You can work for one or multiple employers. You can work full-time, counting each work day, or you can add up hours spent in different part-time jobs until you reach the equivalent of 5 working days per week.

Full-time work

Australia’s understanding of what counts as ‘full-time work’ varies based on the number of hours workers usually complete in the industry. This is why calculating days can be confusing—you could need to work for 35, 38 or 40 hours per week, depending on the norm for your industry.

In short, 1 full day’s work = 1 eligible day. A full day’s work is generally 7 or 8 hours, depending on the norm for the industry. If you only work 3 or 4 hours a day, for example, you can’t count your day as a full day’s work.

Even if you work longer hours in a day (e.g. 12 or 14 hours), you cannot count the extra hours towards multiple days; it is still 1 eligible day. If your workday is slightly shorter (e.g. 6.5 hours) but you work 6 days a week instead of 5, you can still count your days as a full-time worker.

Full-time workers can include weekends in their eligibility, i.e. 5 working days + the weekend = 7 days that count towards your 88 or 179 days.

You can check the guidelines for the number of hours you can work per week in your industry on Fairwork. Enter your industry and sub-industry and click on “Show information tailored for me” for detailed info:

Note that volunteers do not have an industry standard to meet. Volunteers are generally expected to work 35 hours per week, though the official rule for specified work is only that each day worked as a volunteer = 1 eligible day (without a number of hours specified).

Part-time work and separate periods of work

You don’t need to work full-time hours for your 88 or 179 days. However, if you choose to work for less than 5 days a week, be aware you’ll need longer than a calendar period of 3 or 6 months to complete your specified work.

If you work part-time hours or work for multiple short periods in any combination of full-time, part-time or on a piecework rate, your hours of work must add up to the industry equivalent of 5 full days a week over 3 or 6 calendar months.

Part-time employees cannot count weekends towards their eligibility; only days worked count.

If you are unable to work an assigned shift due to factors like weather conditions (e.g. you cannot pick fruit that day because it is raining heavily), you cannot include days not worked towards eligibility.

The exception is working holiday makers hired in a full-time position for a defined period of time, who may count days of work missed due to illness, as long as proof of illness was provided to the employer.

Concrete examples

The official immigration website offers several written examples to help you understand eligibility.