Working holidays Australia

Canadians aged 18-35 require a subclass 417 visa to do a working holiday in Australia. This allows you to work and travel for up to 12 months. When you're in Australia, you'll have the option to extend your stay for up to three years via two additional 12-month visas. However, this is dependent on completing 'specified' work – see the next FAQ.

SWAP process your first 12-month visa for you, with all extensions done independently in-country.

Planning a gap year can take 6+ months to save up for and organize. However, as Australia visas can be issued faster than other working holiday visas – typically 1-3 days unless there are complications with your application – you can book Work Australia more spontaenously than other SWAP programs.

That said, some of our Sydney and Melbourne departure dates can sell out months in advance – so if you have your heart set on a certain date, we'd recommend booking ASAP.

• Our 4-day option includes three nights’ hostel accommodation at the WakeUp! for Sydney departures, and The Village North Melbourne for Melbourne departures.

• Our 7-day option includes five nights’ hostel accommodation at the WakeUp! for Sydney departures, plus one night at a surf camp on the South Coast. Or five nights at The Village North Melbourne, plus one night at The Island YHA on Phillip Island for Melbourne departures.

Accommodation is in multi-share dorms – if you wish to upgrade to a twin (where available) get in touch. If you’re arriving early, you can book a maximum of three pre-nights and three post-nights – just let our team know.

The 4-day option starts on a Tuesday, is semi-guided, has a group size of 1-10, and is designed to set you up with the job support, travel advice, city tours and work essentials (such as your bank account and tax number set up) you need to kickstart your working holiday.

The 7-day option starts every Sunday, is fully guided, has a group size of up to 22 new friends, and includes all the work and city elements of the 4-day one. Plus, a 2-day group road trip, surf lessons, beach hangs and heaps more. Check out the itinerary tab on this page for all the details.

Please note that the 7-day is not an extension of the 4-day – it has different starts dates and a different group.

At SWAP, we love the security of arriving with a job lined up. However, unlike some of our other program like Work Japan or Summer Work USA where our employers are looking to secure ski or summer seasonal staff months in advance – it’s a little different in Oz.

It’s a year-round destination. Therefore, it’s tricky for our hospitality employers (such as bars, restaurants and hotels) to know what positions they’ll have available a month or more in advance. Since the pandemic, they are preferring to hire staff who are in-country and ready to start immediately. This also works well for our travellers, as trust us, as soon as you get to Australia and meet a bunch of new people – guaranteed your plans will change.

When you arrive in Sydney or Melbourne, you’ll have an employment session, CV support and 12 months’ access to a nationwide database to search and apply for jobs. Most people manage to secure a backpacker job within their first three weeks.