Australia is hit by bushfires, floods and cyclones every year, and rebuilding takes hands. To encourage that, the government allows Working Holiday visa holders to count time spent on disaster recovery work towards the days needed to renew their visa, including, unusually, unpaid volunteer work.
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Changes to the renewal of the WHV
The Australian government has unveiled temporary changes to working holiday visas to encourage backpackers to help rebuild communities ravaged by fire and flooding while still being able to renew their working holiday visas.
As a result of these changes, volunteer work carried out in disaster areas now counts towards the days required to renew your WHV visa (for a second and third year). Jobs must be carried out in one of the disaster areas listed by the government. Similarly, not all jobs are eligible (see below).
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How the days are counted
For a second Working Holiday visa you need 88 days of specified work. For a third, you need 179 days, completed while on your second visa.
88 days is not the same as three months. This is the single most common planning mistake. If you work full time — the standard hours for that industry — you can count weekends and rest days, so three calendar months does add up to 88 days. If you work casually or part time, only the days you actually work count. At five days a week, that’s around four and a half months, not three.
Work it out before you commit, using our 88-day calculator. Booking a flight home based on “three months” is how people lose a second visa by twenty days.
The same principle applies to volunteering: you count days worked, and a full day means the normal working hours you’d expect in that role.
Which areas qualify
Two separate lists exist, and they cover different things:
- Bushfire recovery areas — for work done after July 2019, following the 2019-20 fires. Covers large parts of NSW, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, WA, the NT and all of the ACT.
- Natural disaster declared areas — for work done from 31 December 2021 onwards, covering floods, cyclones and severe weather events. All of Tasmania is included, along with extensive areas in every other state.
📍 Check your postcode on the official list
The lists run to several thousand postcodes and the government updates them after every declared disaster. Rather than reproduce a snapshot that goes out of date the moment a new event is declared, check yours directly — it takes thirty seconds, and it’s the only version that counts if your application is assessed.
A rough guide to where the areas are, so you know whether it’s worth checking: the entire east coast from the Sunshine Coast down to the Victorian border is heavily represented, along with the NSW Northern Rivers, the Hunter, the Blue Mountains, Gippsland, the Adelaide Hills, Kangaroo Island and all of Tasmania. If you’re in a rural or coastal area east or south of Brisbane, there’s a good chance you’re covered.
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How to prove volunteer work
This is the question that comes up more than any other, and for good reason: with paid work you have payslips, but volunteering leaves no paper trail unless you create one.
You’ll need a signed letter from the organisation, farm or household you volunteered for, stating:
- your full name, matching your passport
- the exact dates you worked, and the number of days
- the hours worked per day or per week
- a clear description of the tasks — and this is the part that matters most: the letter must make it obvious the work was disaster recovery, not general farm or household help
- the full address and postcode where the work took place
- the signatory’s name, position and contact details, plus an ABN if it’s a business
Keep a diary as you go: dates, hours, and what you did each day. Take photos. Home Affairs can and does contact the person who signed your letter, so make sure they’re reachable and that they know what they’ve signed.
Two things to be clear about. Being located in a declared area is not enough, the work itself must be recovery work. Picking fruit on a farm that happens to sit in a bushfire postcode counts as agricultural work under the normal rules, not as disaster recovery. And if you’re unsure whether your specific role qualifies, ask Home Affairs in writing before you spend three months on it, not after.
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Would strata landscape repairs in a flood recovery area count?
Hi Alex, yes it should work but I would advise you to double check with immi. Cheers
Hi, Wheres is the best place to find regional working jobs like fruit picking and farm hands or bushfire recovery with no experience?
Hi Tom, you should check our fruit picking map: https://www.australia-backpackersguide.com/fruit-picking-map-harvest-jobs/
No experience required most of the time. Cheers
Hi !
Does woofing in a business not affected by bushfires (mostly harvest of fruits and vegetables, weeding etc), in a town that has been affected by the bushfires count for the 88 days ?
Thank you very much!
Vic
Hi Icar, volunteering must be in affected areas and missions such as Construction, farming, or any other work in association with recovery or restitution of land, property, farm animals or wildlife. Or Providing support services or assistance to people living, working or volunteering in the affected areas. Cheers
Hi,When I volunteer in a particular area and apply for a second visa with the Immigration Service, do you know what kind of certificates I should submit?
Hi there, you should add a letter from the family / company you volunteered for (days, hours, missions). Cheers
Thanks a lot!
Do you have a specific format for letters from family members or companies?
Or is the layout free as long as you fill in the days, hours and mission? Can the letter be handwritten?
Hello, thank you for this wonderful article.
I’m on my 462 Working Holiday Visa and I am currently looking for any jobs in Tingalpa QLD 4173 for the purpose of a second or third Working Holiday visa.
Postcode 4173 is under among the Queensland flood affected regional areas. May i know how can i find specified work in assisting flood recovery work in QLD 4173 ?
Hi Wong, you can try to contact associations (such as Conservation volunteers Australia, Wildlife Preservation society of QLD). Cheers
Hello ! Thanks a lot for your article !
I am now volunteering in a bushfire area but at a particular farm, not a company or a volunteer place. Does it count for the 88 days ?
I can’t find any details about that and I am not sure how to prove it, what documents to show and if working at someone’s place is counting for it ? She is not a wwoofing or anything like that.
Thanks a lot !
Have a nice day ! 🙂
Hi Emma, yes it will count as long as it is in an eligible area 🙂
Hey, do you know if the volunteer hours per week need to be the same as the working hours to count towards the 88 days?
Meaning do you have to volunteer for at least 37 hours per week to count for 7 days?
Or is there a minimum daily hours you must achieve?
Thanks
Hi Guy, it seems the same rules are regional jobs apply for volunteering in affected areas 🙂 so more than 30 hrs should count you as a full week. Cheers
Hi, do you know if doing Admin for the infrastructure of a bridge to avoid flooding in a flood recovery area will cover my 88 days?
Hi there, don’t think so but write to the immigration to get their answer. Cheers
Hi! Im currently doing woofing in an area which the post code is eligible for the bushfire and flood recovery. To apply for my second year, do you have to use a specific format for letters from the farmer?
Or is the layout free as long as you fill in the days, hours and mission?
Hi Maria,
Quite free as long as it states your missions, location, work and hours 🙂
Hi! Did I understand well: if I work as a farm hand or I am doing farm work in a flooded area / bushfire area it counts towards my days for another WHV?
Cheers!
Hi Anais, specific work apply to specific areas. If you work in a flooded or bushfire affected area then you need to work in “assisting bush recovery efforts” or “disaster recovery work“ : Construction, farming, or any other work in association with recovery or restitution of land, property, farm animals or wildlife.
Providing support services or assistance to people living, working or volunteering in the affected areas… Please check https://www.australia-backpackersguide.com/eligible-jobs-second-year-visa/#Bushfire_recovery_work_in_declared_bushfire_affected_areas for more info.
Hi I’ve been working in a flooded or bushfire affected area for over 6 months as a volunteer, (2483 Billinudgel) how do I show proof of this when applying for my third working holiday visa?
Thanks
Hi Fiachra, you need to add a letter from your ’employer’ stating the days, missions and period of time worked. Cheers
Hello. Thanks for your informations!
I’ve got a job at a campsite in a flood and fire zone. I’ll be working on restoring the site and preventing forest fires. What documents do I need to provide for this to count towards the 88 days? What exactly should appear in my contract?
Hi, a letter from your employer – stating you are helping with .. (tasks).
Hello,
I’m working for a company in a flood affected area which produces Stormwater, Water, and Sewer infrastructure products. Will this count to towards the 88 days regional work?
Thanks for your help
Hi Karl it depends on your tasks in this company and what you payslips are saying – but it could be eligible yes.
Thank you for your answers! I’m just wondering about the letter of honour from the employer. Does it have to be handwritten or does it not matter in Australia?
Hi Mathilde, no it can be typewriting 🙂
Hello, when a company submits a letter of honour, does it have to be registered with the immigration authorities or be subject to verification?
Hi Hugo I do not think they need to be registered with the immi – but when lodging your application, the immi might check with them. Cheers
Hi, does admin/office work for a construction company that works in a flood affected area count? The type of Contruction is in the list above but do I need to be actively doing the construction or is my office work that contributes to the construction work eligible? And is there any specific requirement to live in the affected area?
Hi Kay,
I believe to be actively participating but i will depends on what your payslips are saying. Cheers
I’m looking for a tractor operator job overseas with 7 years of experience can u assist me with jobs please even any other general farm jobs I do with hard working spirit I’m 28years old men thank u
Hi Mark, Check seek, indeed, gumtree and also FB groups for job offers. Good luck
Hey, what is meant by applications logged in on or after 2nd of February 2024 regarding the Natural Disaster Recovery Volunteering? Do they mean you have to have gotten your first WHV after those dates, or the application for the second one having to be logged on only after those dates, to count in as 88 days?
Hi Jenny, if you want to claim work done as a volunteer in affected areas it needs to be after this date.
Hello! A job in a small construction business (welding) would it count in jamberoo/kiama 2533 for natural disaster work?
Hi Catalina,
Yes should – check the postcode though. Cheers