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How to calculate specified subclass 462 work

A question we get asked a lot is “How much work do I need to do in order to extend my 462 visa?”, the answer is as follows:

  1. Three months‘ means a period equivalent to three ‘calendar’ months of full time employment (Generally, the Australian working week is 35 to 40 hours, comprising 7 to 8 hours of work each day).
  2.  However, you do not need to do your three months’ work all in one go, or all with one employer. You are free to spread the work over the period of your stay in Australia on your first 462 visa. If you are working part time or casual, with one or more employers, then you must have worked at least 88 full days in the specified location and industry.

The three month specified subclass 462 requirement can be met in a variety of ways, for example:

  • Working Full time (for example a standard 5 day working week) continuous period of three calendar months (88 calendar days); or
  • Working the equivalent number of days (88 total) over a period of more than three calendar months (for example, if the visa holder is working less than 5 days per week, or is working intermittently between periods of travel.)
  • Working a combination of full-time and part time or casual work to total 88 days (see below for the minimum amount of hours you must work per day).

You cannot complete your specified subclass 462 work requirement in a total period of less than three calendar months.

Work can be either:

  • In one block with one employer
  • In separate blocks with one employer or a number of employers. Blocks of work can be in different kinds of specified work.

How many hours are in a days work?

The definition of a ‘days work’ depends on your specific job and industry standard, which clearly isn’t the most concise definition provided by the Australian Government. If you are unsure of your industry standard, then use a 7 hour day/35 hour week as a bench mark or ask your employer they should tell you this info.

Applicants cannot count a long day of work as more than one day work. For example, if the industry’s standard day is seven hours long, working a 14 hour day does not count as two days of specified work.

In circumstances where the applicant is employed by more than one employer at the same time, they can only count each calendar day of work completed once towards their 3 month specified subclass 462 work requirement. For example, if you work seven and a half hours on the farm in Innisfail in the morning and seven and a half hours  work in a restaurant at Cairns during the night on the same day, then you have only worked one calendar day.

The shortest period that may be counted towards the specified work requirement is 1 day of full time work (for that industry). A good example of this is the current Hospitality industry award, the minimum full time day for this industry is defined as 6 hours long, working any shorter shift than this will unfortunately not count toward your 88 days.

Full time workers can count sick days only during periods where they were in paid employment and entitled to sick leave or covered by a workers compensation scheme. In these situations, supporting evidence must be provided by the employer.

Applicants who were prevented from obtaining employment because of injury or seasonal circumstances cannot count any time they were unable to work towards the three month period. For example, cyclones interrupting harvest activities.