Working Holiday Visa Changes You Need to Know

Working Holiday Visa’s are changing. Restrictions have now expanded to be more inclusive and offer greater benefits for those coming to Australia and moving to the UK. 

The Australian government has created new pathways for working holiday makers to live and work in Australia. Most notably from July 1 2023 UK passport holders aged 18 - 35 years can obtain a WHV which is a five year increase from the previous age limit. Also from July 1 2024, UK passport holders are eligible to hold a WHV for up to three years without specific work requirements. 

This has created new opportunities for workers with more experience to contribute to the marketing and agency landscape in Australia. 

Traditionally, at Stopgap we have placed candidates on WHV’s in client-side marketing roles usually for 6 month contracts. With the increased return of more working holiday makers we hope to see contract roles on the rise and more contract roles being filled. 

At the beginning of the year, we predicted an uptick in client-side contract roles due to budget adjustments and part-time opportunities. There was also increased capacity for Australia's Working Holiday Visa (subclass 417) in January meaning the return of international talent.

It’s clear as part of the Australia-UK Free Trade Agreement these efforts to encourage youth mobility can provide many benefits to Australia and the UK’s workforce and economy based on the current domestic skills shortage.

There have been many other positive changes amongst Australia’s review of migration that means more skilled migrants can benefit marketing teams and agencies. These include:

• New categories for migrants based on skills

• Protection of temporary migrant workers to avoid exploitation

• Changes for international students to gain skilled visas

• Work towards temporary visas for parents and families

All of these changes are reflective of efforts to grow Australia’s economy, attract international talent and fill the skills gap in Australia. Likewise, I hope marketing and agency talent continues to see more opportunities in Australia and the UK. Stopgap’s UK Team are also hopeful contract roles will be filled by Australians on the Youth Mobility scheme. 

You can find roles available in Australia on our website’s job board and on LinkedIn, as well as the UK’s opportunities on their website too.