I know a lot of backpackers in Australia struggle to find accurate information on what is available to them to qualify for the second year, so I have compiled all of the information I know for both visas: Working Holiday Visa (Subclass 417) and Work and Holiday Visa (Subclass 462). Some of the information in this post is taken directly from the website immi.homeaffairs.gov.au. Finding this information can be stressful; as you have to navigate to numerous pages to find the specified work. Hopefully, everything I have learned will help you find a job that qualifies.

First, you need to know that both visas offer a second-year option, but the required work varies slightly. The required work changes over time, but as of July 2019, you can do the following work on both visas:

• Animal and Plant Cultivation
• Fishing and Pearling
• Tree Farming and Felling

Only 417 visas can do:

• Mining
• Construction

Only 462 visas can do:

• Tourism and Hospitality

Here are some examples of the above work options:

Animal and Plant Cultivation:

• Harvesting and/or packing of fruit and vegetable crops
• General maintenance crop work
• Cultivation or propagating plants, fungi or their products or parts
• Immediate processing of plant products
• Maintaining animals for the purpose of selling them
• Processing animal products such as shearing, butchery, packing and tanning
• Manufacturing dairy produce from raw material

Fishing and Pearling:

• Working on a boat relating directly to taking or catching fish and other aquatic species
• Working to take or culture pearls and pearl shells

Tree Framing and Felling:

• Planting and tending trees in a plantation or forest that are intended to be felled
• Felling trees in a plantation or forest
• Transporting trees or parts of trees from a plantation or forest to the place where they milled

Mining (417 only):

• Coal mining
• Oil and gas extraction
• Metal ore mining
• Construction material mining
• Non-metallic mineral mining and quarrying exploration
• Mining support services
• For more information on mining options, click here

Construction (417 only):

• Residential building construction
• Non-residential building construction
• Heavy and civil engineering construction
• Land development and site preparation services
• Building structure services
• Building installation services
• Building completion services
• Other constructions services
• For more information on construction options, click here

Tourism and hospitality (462 only):

• A range of positions where the primary purpose is to provide service to tourists, including tourist guides and operators, outdoor adventure or activity instructors, and tourist transport services
• Gallery or museum managers, curators or guides
• Hospitality workers, including a range of positions in hotels and other accommodation facilities, restaurants, cares, bars and casinos
• For more information on tourism and hospitality options, click here

Now that you know the type of work you can do, the next big thing you have to know is the locations you can perform this work.  If you have a 417 visa, then this answer is straightforward. You can complete all work options for 417 visas in any of the following locations:

State/Territory	Postcode
Australian Capital Territory	No postcodes are eligible
New South Wales	2311 to 2312 2328 to 2411 2420 to 2490 2536 to 2551 2575 to 2594 2618 to 2739 2787 to 2899
Norfolk Island	Entire Territory
Northern Territory	Entire Territory
Queensland	4124 to 4125 4133 4211 4270 to 4272 4275 4280 4285 4287 4307 to 4499 4510 4512 4515 to 4519 4522 to 4899
South Australia	Entire Territory
Tasmania	Entire Territory
Victoria	3139 3211 to 3334 3340 to 3424 3430 to 3649 3658 to 3749 3753 3756 3758 3762 3764 3778 to 3781 3783 3797 3799 3810 to 3909 3921 to 3925 3945 to 3974 3979 3981 to 3996
Western Australia	6041 to 6044 6055 to 6056 6069 6076 6083 to 6084 6111 6121 to 6126 6200 to 6799

If you have a 462 visa, then this answer becomes more difficult. The areas that you can work vary from 417 visas and depend on the type of work you are doing. Before November 2018, all 462 visas had to complete their specified work in postcodes north of the Tropic of Capricorn. Now plant and animal cultivation can also be completed in some of the southern regional areas. You can fulfill all qualified work for a 462 visa can in the following locations:

State/Territory	Postcode
Northern Territory	Entire Territory
Queensland	4472 4478 4481 to 4482 4680 4694 to 4695 4697 4699 to 4707 4709 to 4714 4717 4720 to 4728 4730 to 4733 4735 to 4746 4750 to 4751 4753 to 4754 4756 to 4757 4798 to 4800 4801 to 4812 4814 to 4825 4828 to 4830 4849 to 4850 4852 4854 to 4856 4858 to 4861 4865 4868 to 4888 4890 to 4892 4895
Western Australia	0872 6537 6642 6646 6701 6705 6707 6710 to 6714 6716 6718 6720 to 6722 6725 to 6726 6728 6740 6743 6751 6753 to 6754 6758 6760 6762 6765 6770

You can also complete Plant and animal cultivation work in the following locations:

State/Territory	Postcode
Australian Capital Territory	No postcodes are eligible
New South Wales	2311 to 2312 2328 to 2411 2420 to 2490 2536 to 2551 2575 to 2594 2618 to 2739 2787 to 2898
Norfolk Island	Entire Territory
Queensland	4124 to 4125 4133 4211 4270 to 4272 4275 4280 4285 4287 4307 to 4471 4474 to 4477 4479 to 4480 4486 to 4498 4510 4512 4515 to 4519 4550 to 4678 4715 to 4716 4718 to 4719 4857
South Australia	Entire Territory
Tasmania	Entire Territory
Victoria	3139 3211 to 3334 3340 to 3424 3430 to 3649 3658 to 3749 3753 3756 3758 3762 3764 3778 to 3781 3783 3797 3799 3810 to 3909 3921 to 3925 3945 to 3974 3979 3981 to 3996
Western Australia	6041 to 6044 6055 to 6056 6069 6076 6083 to 6084 6111 6121 to 6126 6207 to 6536 6556 to 6640 6731 6733

Right now, the easiest way to see if the job you are looking at is in a location that will qualify is by finding out the postcode where you will perform the work. After you know the postcode, you check the above tables to verify if the postcode is in an approved area. If it is listed, then you are good to go! If not, you might want to look for another job.

The other option to see if the work will qualify is to talk to the employer. All businesses need to register with the Australian Government to provide qualifying work to working holidaymakers. If they are not currently registered, they are still able to do so, but it is on them to do it so be wary.

Okay so now you know how to find a job that will qualify, or maybe you already found a job! Great job if you have! The next thing you need to know is how to count your days. Luckily counting your days is the same regardless of which visa you have. Just because they are the same does not mean it is easy to do, however.

You need 88 days of the specified work listed above to qualify for a second-year visa. The easiest way to guarantee your days is to work full time for three months for only one employer. Full-time work is generally considered to be 38 hours; however, there are some industries where it may be slightly less. The hours all depend on what the industry standard is for your work. Unfortunately, this information is difficult to come by because of the constant changes occurring in all industries.

If you are a part-time employee, then the days are not too difficult to count, but it is challenging to accumulate all of your days. With part-time work, you can count all days in which you work a full standard workday. The hours for the workday can vary depending on the industry, but if 5 hours are acceptable for a workday and you work 10 hours that day, you can still only count it as one day. So, say you work three days a week for 7 hours a day, you can count only the three days toward your 88 days. If you work four days but only 3 for 7 hours and the 4th for 2 hours, then you will still only be able to count three days as the 4th day was not enough hours to count as a day of work. So, with a part-time job, instead of working for only three months, you might have to work for closer to 6 months depending on how many full workdays you are paid for each week.

Piecework and casual employment can also be challenging to calculate. With piecework, you are paid based on the amount of work you do. So, if you are picking limes and they pay you for filling up a bin you will be paid only for what you fill up, time does not matter. If you fill it in 2 hours or 8 hours, you will still be paid the same for the one bin. Because of this, the hours are less critical for counting the days. What is important is what your agreement says you will work. If the contract states that you will work 5 or 6 days a week and you work five days, then you can count the full week (7 days) toward your 88 days, but if you only work four days, then you can only count four days toward your 88 days.

With casual employment, you do not have a guaranteed schedule. One week you might work 20 hours and the next 38 hours. You might even have a week where you do not work any hours at all. With casual, you take a little of everything above to calculate your days. Say you have two weeks where you work 38 hours over five days then one week with no hours and another week with 28 hours over four days. During these four weeks, you can count 18 days (14 from the two weeks with 38 hours, 0 days from the week with no work and four days from the week with 28 hours).

So, as you can see above, it can be challenging to count your days. If possible, I recommend finding a job with a set schedule of full-time work so that you can count seven days each week. But you have to find what works for you. If you want to spend two months working full time for one company and then two months working part-time for a different company, then go for it! Simply use the above information to make sure you accurately count your days before you apply for the second-year visa!

Another thing you may want to consider is the new third-year visa option. The requirements for the third year are almost identical as for the second year with one significant difference: six months instead of three. The biggest thing you have to know about the third year is that you must complete the six months after your first-year ends. The only way you can start counting workdays before the beginning of your second year is if you are granted a bridging visa during your first year while waiting for approval on your second year. The specified work and the methods to count your days are all the same as the requirements for your second-year visa.