One of the most frequently asked questions from those who have just arrived in Australia with a Working Holiday Visa is about the 88-days required to renew the visa. In this article, we give you the answer once for all!!

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To understand how to count the days to renew your WHV, we need to clarify some concepts:

• Here is the definition of a ‘full-time’ week: ‘Generally, the Australian working week is 35 to 40 hours’.
• How long is a working week?

The text states that people whose work is equivalent to ‘full-time’ can count their days off towards the 88-day requirement. Therefore, it is possible to count seven days by working the minimum hours for which a week is considered full-time.

• It is necessary to calculate based on each payslip.

For every weekly payslip with 35 (or more) hours, it is possible to count the entire week (7 days).

• How is a workday considered?

A workday is defined as the completion of 7 hours.

How do I count days when I work less than 35 hours per week?

If the hours are less than 35, you need to divide the hours worked during the week by 7 (considered the minimum working day); the resulting number indicates the days that can be counted for that week.

Examples:

35 hours = 7 days

39 hours = 7 days

21 hours = 3 days

24 hours = 3.4 days

NB: Decimals are also counted. For example, two payslips of 3.4 days count as 6.8.

Is it possible to work for more than one employer?

The answer is yes, but you cannot count the same workday twice.

Here is the text: “If the applicant is employed by more than one employer at the same time, they may only count each calendar day of work completed once towards their 88 day specified work requirement.”

What does this mean? You can work for more than one employer, but only to accumulate the hours for a single working week.

Therefore, it is not possible to work two full-time jobs during the same week and count them as two weeks.

Renewing your visa by working in hospitality

According to the legislation, these jobs are possible in the field of Tourism/Hospitality:

• Accommodation, including: hotels, motels, bed and breakfasts, and backpacker hostels;
• Caravan parks and camping grounds;
• Commercial housekeeping services;
• Boarding houses, guest houses and reception centres;
• Food and beverage, including: cafes and restaurants; takeaway food services; catering services; pubs, taverns and bars; hospitality clubs;
• Services provided directly to tourists, including: tourist guides and operators; outdoor adventure or activity instructors; tourist transport service workers; gallery or museum workers, curators or guides; travel agency and tourist information workers; event and entertainment venue workers.

How to count days when working on a bin-piece rate?

You start with the pay received at the end of the week. Then you divide that value by 7 – the number of hours to consider a working day – and again by the minimum hourly wage. The resulting number will indicate the number of days you can count for that week.

Example: if you received a pay of $600, you need to divide 600 by 7 (hours to count as a working day) and then by 21.38 (minimum hourly wage).

The result is 4, so you can count 4 days for that week.

For any questions, do not hesitate to contact our infopoint at infopoint@atlasmigration.com