Australia is processing working holiday visas more slowly as applications rise, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke has confirmed, while the government continues work on its broader migration policy. The Department of Home Affairs has separately warned that applications may take longer than usual to finalise because it is receiving a high volume of applications.
Asked whether working holiday visas were being paused in certain categories, Burke said applications were still being processed.
Also Read| Australia revises processing priority for skilled and employer-sponsored visas
“At the moment, the processing of working holiday visas at the moment - they are still being processed, but they are being processed more slowly than they were previously,” Burke said.
The development matters for young overseas travellers, including Indians, seeking to work and travel in Australia. The Working Holiday Maker programme includes the Working Holiday visa, subclass 417, and the Work and Holiday visa, subclass 462.
Australia working holiday visa processing takes longer
The Department of Home Affairs says it is currently receiving a high volume of applications for both subclass 417 and subclass 462 visas.
“As a result, applications will take longer than usual to be finalised,” the department says on its Working Holiday Maker programme website. It advises applicants not to book travel to Australia until they receive written confirmation that their visa has been granted.
The department assesses applications individually and may contact applicants or their authorised representatives if it needs more information. Applicants can check their application status and provide additional information through ImmiAccount.
Burke did not say how much processing times had increased or how long applicants should now expect to wait.
Australia migration policy under Cabinet review
The slowdown comes as the Australian government works on its wider migration policy.
“We're going through a cabinet process as we should. We're going through a detailed policy process where you look at every possible consequence,” Burke said.
Asked whether the policy would be finalised within weeks or months, Burke did not provide a timeframe.
“We're talking about a cabinet process,” he said.
Also Read| Studying in Australia gets costlier for International students as government raises visa fee
The government has been seeking to reduce migration from its post-pandemic peak. In June, Burke said Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed annual net overseas migration had fallen to 301,000 in the year to December 2025, down more than 45% from the post-Covid peak in 2023.
What is Australia's Working Holiday Maker visa?
The Working Holiday Maker programme allows eligible young people from partner countries to spend an extended period in Australia while undertaking short-term work to fund their stay.
Australia operates two categories under the programme — the Working Holiday visa, subclass 417, and the Work and Holiday visa, subclass 462.
The first subclass 462 visa allows eligible people aged 18 to 30 to stay in Australia for 12 months. Visa holders can undertake short-term work, study for up to four months and travel in and out of Australia while the visa remains valid.
How many working holiday visas does Australia grant?
Official figures show the scale of the programme.
According to the Department of Home Affairs' Working Holiday Maker Visa Program Report, Australia granted 66,211 Work and Holiday subclass 462 visas in the 2024-25 financial year to June 30, 2025, up 62.9% from 40,634 in the previous financial year.
The figures cover subclass 462 and should not be read as the total for the entire Working Holiday Maker programme, which also includes subclass 417.
Also Read| Australia raises salary requirement for skilled work visas
The department's data also show that 1,000 subclass 462 visas were granted to Indian citizens in 2024-25.
What Indian applicants need to know
Indian passport holders can apply under the Work and Holiday subclass 462 programme, but first-time applicants face an additional step.
India, China and Vietnam are subject to a pre-application ballot because demand exceeds the number of available places. Applicants must register for the ballot and be randomly selected before they can apply for their first subclass 462 visa. The ballot process began on October 1, 2024.
Australia has an annual grant cap of 1,000 first Work and Holiday visas for Indian passport holders, according to the Department of Home Affairs. The ballot does not change that annual limit.
Registrations for India's 2026-27 ballot opened on June 4 and closed on June 25, 2026. The selection period runs from July 2, 2026, to April 30, 2027, according to Home Affairs.
If selected in the ballot, an applicant has 28 calendar days from notification to lodge an application for the first Work and Holiday visa.
Working holiday visas and Australia's agriculture sector
The slower visa processing has also raised questions about its possible impact on Australia's agricultural industry, where overseas workers are used for some jobs.
Burke said the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility, or PALM, scheme is the main visa programme serving the agricultural sector.
“The principal visa for the agricultural industry is actually PALM, the Pacific Workers Scheme,” Burke said.
He said some operators considered switching to backpackers after the government strengthened worker protections under PALM.
“One of the things that happened when we started to improve worker protections on PALM was not overwhelmingly, but some of the worst operators said, ‘well, if we've got to have better standards for PALM workers, we'll just switch to backpackers.’ And that's not the way this system's meant to work.”
For applicants, the immediate position is that working holiday visa processing has slowed, not stopped, according to Burke. Home Affairs is also advising applicants to wait for written confirmation of a visa grant before making travel arrangements.
