How to calculate the 88 days for your Second Year Visa in Australia

To extend your stay in Australia with a second-year visa (subclass 417 or 462), you generally need to complete 88 days of specified work in an eligible regional area — jobs in agriculture, forestry, fishing, mining, construction, tourism and hospitality. Getting the count right is essential to meet the visa requirements and plan your time. Here’s everything you need to know — plus a free calculator to work out your days.

🇬🇧 UK passport holders, good news: Since 1 July 2024, you no longer need to complete the 88 days (or the 179 days for a third visa) to apply for your second or third Working Holiday Visa. See the UK section below.

Free 88-day calculator

Use our free calculator to estimate how many days of specified work you’ve completed and how many you have left:

How to Qualify for a Second-Year Working Holiday Visa in Australia

Just like your first Working Holiday Visa, you must meet specific conditions to qualify for a second-year visa:

• Age requirement: You must be between 18 and 35 years old for most eligible countries. (The age limit was raised to 35 for the UK, Ireland, France, Italy, Denmark and Canada, and since 1 July 2026, also for Germany, Cyprus, Finland and South Korea. For some other nationalities the limit is still 30 — check your country on immi.homeaffairs.gov.au.)
• Valid passport: Your passport must be valid at the time of application.
• Completed regional work: You must have worked at least 3 months (88 days) of eligible specified work in a designated regional area – unless you hold a UK passport (see below).

Visa fee: The second Working Holiday Visa costs 1,000 AUD (the same as the third visa; the first visa costs 840 AUD, as of July 2026). Fees are reviewed every July — check the current amount on immi.homeaffairs.gov.au.

More information here: Apply for second year visa

Changes for UK Passport Holders

Under the Australia–UK Free Trade Agreement, the rules for British travellers have changed significantly:

🇬🇧 Since July 2023: UK passport holders can apply for a Working Holiday Visa between the ages of 18 and 35.

🇬🇧 Since 1 July 2024: UK passport holders can be granted up to three Working Holiday Visas without having to complete the 88 days of specified work (and without the 179 days normally required for a third visa). You can work or travel anywhere in Australia — no regional/farm work needed.

⚠️ Important: This exemption applies only to UK passport holders. All other nationalities (Ireland, France, Germany, Canada, etc.) still need to complete the specified work. Dual nationals: if you entered Australia on your Irish (or other) passport, you must complete the days to extend that visa — but you could apply for your next visa on your UK passport to use the exemption.

Read also : Free Trade Agreement Australia – UK

What Counts as ‘Specified Work’ for the 88 Days?

Specified work includes jobs in agriculture, forestry, fishing, mining, construction, and tourism/hospitality. The eligible industries differ depending on your visa type (417 or 462).

Industries and areas approved for Subclass 417 visa holders

• tourism and hospitality in Northern, Remote and Very Remote Australia, from 22 June 2021
• plant and animal cultivation in regional Australia
• fishing and pearling in regional Australia
• tree farming and felling in regional Australia
• mining in regional Australia
• construction in regional Australia
• bushfire recovery work in declared bushfire-affected areas, carried out after 31 July 2019
• recovery work in flood, cyclone or other severe weather-affected areas, carried out after 31 December 2021
• critical COVID-19 work in the healthcare and medical sectors, anywhere in Australia, after 31 January 2020

Industries and areas approved for Subclass 462 visa holders

• tourism and hospitality in Northern, Remote and Very Remote Australia, from 22 June 2021
• plant and animal cultivation in Northern Australia and other specified areas of regional Australia
• fishing and pearling in Northern Australia only
• tree farming and felling in Northern Australia only
• construction in Northern Australia and other specified areas of regional Australia
• bushfire recovery work in declared bushfire-affected areas, carried out after 31 July 2019
• recovery work in flood, cyclone or other severe weather-affected areas, carried out after 31 December 2021
• critical COVID-19 work in the healthcare and medical sectors, anywhere in Australia, after 31 January 2020

How to Accurately Calculate Your 88 Days or 3 Months of Specified Work

Understanding the minimum requirement

The 3-month period refers to the three shortest calendar months of the year — meaning you must complete at least 88 calendar days, including any rest days or weekends that fall during your employment.

You have flexibility in how you complete these days:

• One continuous period with the same employer, OR
• Multiple shorter periods with different employers in various industries.

For example, you could work one month on a farm in the Northern Territory and two months in mining in Tasmania. The work can be spread across your visa period.

Ways to Meet the Work Requirement

You can reach the 88 days / 3-month requirement through different work arrangements:

📌 Full-time, part-time, or piecework spread out over multiple short contracts, adding up to 5 days a week over 3 months.
📌 Continuous full-time work of 5 days a week for a total of 3 months (including agreements based on a piecework rate).
📌 Less than 5 days per week over a longer period, provided it reaches the equivalent of 88 days.

This flexibility allows you to tailor your work schedule to your travel plans while ensuring you meet visa requirements.

How to count a ‘day’ of specified work

A ‘day’ of specified work doesn’t necessarily mean a full 8-hour shift. A workday is any calendar day on which you perform specified work for the normal number of hours considered standard in your industry — usually 35 to 40 hours a week, or 7 to 8 hours a day.

Note: for volunteer bushfire or flood recovery work, any day on which you worked counts as one day.

Full-Time vs. Part-Time Work Calculations

✅ Full-Time Workers

• If you work 5 days a week, each day counts as 1 day toward your 88 days.
• You can count your week-ends are days worked – so it will be a total of 7 days / week.

✅ Part-Time Workers

• Your total working hours need to be equivalent to full-time hours in your industry.
• Keep track of your hours worked and divide by the industry standard (usually 35–40 hours per week) to determine your eligible workdays.

Public holidays and sick days can be counted as a day of specified work if you are paid for that day. If you are not not paid then those days cannot be included in your total period of specified work.

❌ Overtime does not count as extra days. If a normal workday is 5 hours, working 10 hours in one day still counts as only 1 day.

Casual Work & Piece Rates

If you’re working casual jobs or paid on piece rates (e.g. fruit picking), calculating your days is trickier:

🔹 Keep detailed records of hours worked each day. 🔹 Make sure your total hours add up to full-time-equivalent days. 🔹 Fair pay matters: some second-year applications have been rejected due to underpayment. Since 2022, piece-rate workers are entitled to a guaranteed minimum hourly rate.

What about the salary?

Minimum wages in Australia are set by awards (collective agreements) and vary by age and contract type (full-time, part-time or casual). Casual workers receive a higher rate — the standard casual loading is +25%.

💰 The national minimum wage is 26.44 AUD per hour (before tax), or about 1,004.90 AUD per week (38 hours), since 1 July 2026.

Your exact minimum depends on your industry: fruit and vegetable work falls under the Horticulture Award, construction under the Building and Construction General On-site Award, and so on. Check your rate — including the current piece-rate guarantee — on the Fair Work website.

Weather Conditions & Work Interruptions

⚠ Bad weather, accidents, or unexpected closures can impact your workdays.

• If you are paid for a missed workday (e.g., sick leave), it counts towards your 88 days.
• If you do not receive payment, the day does not count.

Keeping accurate timesheets, payslips, and employer documentation is crucial to ensure your workdays are properly counted for your visa renewal.

Documentation

Pay slips: keep them all — they must show your employer’s ABN and your work details.
Work diary: record daily tasks, hours and breaks.
Employer sign-off: have your employer confirm your completed days periodically.

Calculate your 88 days — examples

Examples extracted from the immigration website

Examples where the requirement IS met

Work during the week — 3 months on a farm, 5 days a week (industry standard = 5 days): weekends count, so 7 days a week.
Shift work — 3 months on an irregular roster (e.g. 1 week on, 1 week off): counts as 3 months.
Illness — 3 months full-time with paid sick leave: counts as 3 months.
Different employers — 60 days as a harvest helper + 28 days as a construction worker = 88 days.

Examples where the requirement is NOT met

Work during the week — 3 months on a farm, only 4 days a week (industry standard = 5): weekends don’t count, so only 4 days/week.
Working on another visa — you can only apply for the second-year visa if the work was done on a Working Holiday Visa. Farm work done on a student visa doesn’t count.
Seasonal circumstances — if you’ve accumulated only 80 days and can’t finish the last 8 before your visa expires (e.g. due to bad weather), you can’t apply.

Applying for the Visa

Once you have completed your days:

• Proof of Work: Gather all documentation, including pay slips, work diaries, and any signed forms from your employer.
• Application: Apply online through the Australian Government’s Department of Home Affairs website, providing all necessary documents.

Apply for a Third year working holiday visa

A third year is possible. You need to complete 6 months (179 days) of specified work in regional areas while on your second WHV (417 or 462). The eligible jobs and regions are the same as for the second visa, and the work must have been done after July 2019.

🇬🇧 UK passport holders are exempt from this requirement too (since 1 July 2024).

Fee: the third WHV also costs 1,000 AUD.

In Conclusion

Check that both the job and the geographic area are eligible. Confirm your status when you sign your Tax File Number Declaration at the start of each job, as this affects your day count. If you’re employed casually, count only the days actually worked to be safe. If you spread your 88 days across several jobs, keep a running total so you don’t get any nasty surprises.

Each case is unique, and the final decision always rests with an immigration officer so keep all your documents (payslips, photos, bank statements, etc.).

FAQs

Article updated on 08/09/2026