From Kathleen Crislip,
Your Guide to Student Travel.
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Want to Work, Travel and Play in Australia?

Then you need a Working Holiday visa -- and recent news is that even US students can work in Australia as of October. Start your Australian Working Holiday Maker visa application process here on the Australian government site. You can skip the introductory info on the site's home page and shoot straight to this Work and Holiday visa page to get started right away with an online application. When you receive the visa, you'll keep it with your passport (find out how to get a passport here).

According to the site, "The Working Holiday Program provides opportunities for people between 18 and 30 to holiday in Australia and to supplement their travel funds through incidental employment."

The backpacker's Australian work visa allows you to stay in Australia for up to one year; you can leave Australia and return during that time. The visa is intended to allow you to travel around Australia, seeing the sights and enjoying the country while making a few bucks to keep you going - not to embark on a serious job. The logic would appear to be that serious employment would keep you in one place - and the government wants you to enjoy traveling in the country. It's also tough to get a job in professional-level jobs requiring expert experience. To that end, you can perform casual work (agricultural labor, often called the Harvest Trail, is popular with students) for a single employer for up to six months, and then you must move on to another employer.

Work and Holiday Visa Requirements

US students applying for a Work and Holiday visa must meet these requirements:

• Be aged 18 to 30
• Be outside of Australia when applying for and granted the visa
• Show evidence that you are enrolled in a "post secondary course of study" or "hold post secondary qualifications"
• Have a return ticket or sufficient funds for a return or onward fare as well as sufficient funds for the first part of your stay
• Meet health and character requirements

Yeah, what's that all mean? Learn more at Australia's Work and Holiday visa website.

One of our Student Travel Forum readers is heading for Australia on a Working Holiday Maker visa; she makes her own jewelry and plans to busk her handmade jewelry on beaches - imagine getting paid to wander the white beaches of Australia!

More Information on Australian Working Visas

• Visit the Australian work visa web pages
• Call the Australian Visa Information Service at 888-990-8888
• Visit the Asutralian Embassy web site

US backpackers will be eligible for an unlimited number of Working Holiday Maker visas as of October 31, 2007. (see the other 19 countries participating in the program here.) US students can also apply for a Special Program visa, which is not intended for short term casual backpacker work.

Good on ya, mate!