On the 1st July, 2008 the Migration Regulations 1994 ("the Regulations") were amended to expand the concession for a second Working Holiday visa for those who undertake three months' work in regional Australia to include work in the construction industry in regional Australia.
The amendments change the term "seasonal work" in the Regulations to "specified work". This change means that an applicant for a second Working Holiday visa must now satisfy the Minister that they have carried out "specified work" in regional Australia. Specified work has been defined as work that is undertaken in a specified field or industry in a designated regional area of Australia.
According to the Department of Immigration and Citizenship ("DIAC") specified work includes any of the following types of work:
- Plant and animal cultivation including cultivating plants, general maintenance crop work, harvesting or packing fruit and vegetable crops, pruning vines and the immediate processing of animal products such as shearing or butchery in abattoir. This also includes the maintaining animals for the purpose of selling them or their bodily produce and manufacturing dairy produce from raw material.
- Fishing and pearling by conducting operations directly relating to catching fish or culturing pearls.
- Tree farming and felling including felling trees in a plantation or forest and transporting trees to be milled or processed.
- Mining including coal mining, metal ore mining, oil and gas extraction, exploration and mining support services.
- Construction including building completion services, building installation services, building structure services, heavy and civil engineering construction, land development and site preparation services, non-residential and residential building construction and other construction services.
It is important to note that the specified work can be work undertaken as a volunteer and does not need to be paid work. Specified work may also include work undertaken as a contractor.
The new definitions of specified work will apply to all second Working Holiday visa applications from the 1st July, 2008 with the changes to forms 1150 and 1263 coming into effect from this date.
Previous applicants for a second Working Holiday visa whose application was refused for not meeting the seasonal work requirement may now meet the specified work requirement and be eligible to make another application.