Australia plans second- and third-year Working Holiday ballots with proposed 45,000 and 5,000 limits

In short: Australia has announced a major change to its Working Holiday Maker programme. Applicants seeking a second year or third year will move to a ballot system, with a proposed cap of 45,000 second-year places and 5,000 third-year places. The existing regional-work requirements remain part of the qualification process.

The change is especially relevant to young Irish and European travellers who use Australia’s Working Holiday programme as a route to spend more than one year living and working in the country. The Australian Government says the migration changes are being rolled out progressively, so applicants should distinguish between what has been announced and what has already become operational.

What Australia has announced

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke set out the new approach in a National Press Club speech on 17 September 2026. He said the government will introduce a ballot for people seeking years two and three of the Working Holiday Maker programme.

For a second year, the ballot will be limited to 45,000 places. Burke said about 57,000 people qualified for a second year in the previous year. For a third year, the ballot will be limited to 5,000 places, compared with about 31,000 people in the previous cohort cited by the minister.

Those figures show why the change matters. Completing the required regional work may no longer be enough on its own to guarantee access to a further Working Holiday year once the ballot system is operating.

• Start with Babylon’s Australia visa, residency and citizenship guide.

Do the regional-work requirements change?

According to Burke’s announcement, the underlying regional-work requirements do not disappear. To qualify for the second-year ballot, applicants will still need to satisfy the existing requirement associated with specified regional work, commonly described as 88 days. For a third year, the minister said applicants will still need the required six months of regional work.

The practical change is what happens after an applicant meets those requirements. Under the announced system, eligible people will qualify to enter a ballot rather than automatically progressing simply because they have completed the required work and otherwise meet the visa rules.

• Doing regional work? Read Babylon’s guide to farm work in Australia.

What about Irish Working Holiday makers?

Irish citizens are among the largest users of Australia’s Working Holiday programme. Home Affairs data for the year to 30 June 2025 recorded 9,869 second Working Holiday visa grants to Irish citizens, making Ireland one of the biggest national groups in the programme.

That makes the new ballot structure commercially and practically important for Irish travellers planning a two- or three-year stay. Someone considering regional work partly to qualify for another year should now build the possibility of an unsuccessful ballot into their plans.

The minister also highlighted that the United Kingdom has particular arrangements connected with the Australia-UK free trade agreement. Applicants from other countries should not assume that UK-specific treatment applies to them.

When will the new ballot start?

This is the area where applicants need to be careful. The Department of Home Affairs says the government’s migration changes have begun to be implemented and will be progressively rolled out over the next 12 months. The department’s policy page confirms the plan to introduce ballots for years two and three, but the sources checked by Babylon do not yet provide the complete operational timetable, registration dates or ballot mechanics for every affected applicant.

That means the safest description at present is that the change has been announced and is entering implementation. It should not be presented as though every second- or third-year applicant is already using the new ballot today.

Working Holiday processing is also changing

The government says it intends to stabilise Working Holiday Maker application processing at around three months. That is a significant planning consideration for people timing the end of a first-year visa, arranging regional employment or booking onward travel.

Australia is also tightening other parts of its migration system, including compliance measures for people without valid visas, restrictions intended to reduce “visa hopping”, and changes to some student and visitor visa settings. Those measures are part of a broader effort to reduce net overseas migration while maintaining access to workers in priority sectors.

What should prospective applicants do now?

• Do not abandon regional work requirements. The government says the 88-day and six-month qualifying requirements remain relevant.
• Do not assume qualifying work guarantees another year. The announced ballot caps create an additional selection step.
• Check Home Affairs before making expensive commitments. Registration dates, detailed ballot mechanics and implementation dates may be updated.
• Allow more time for processing. The government is moving towards a three-month processing timeframe for Working Holiday Maker applications.
• Check your nationality-specific rules. Working Holiday and Work and Holiday arrangements differ by country, and UK citizens have particular arrangements.

Why Australia is making the change

The government says the wider migration package is intended to bring net overseas migration towards its budget forecasts, strengthen compliance and give Australia more control over temporary migration numbers. The Home Affairs policy summary says the government is targeting net overseas migration of 245,000 in the current financial year and 225,000 in 2027–28.

The Working Holiday changes are also economically sensitive because backpackers provide labour in agriculture, hospitality and regional businesses. Industry groups have warned that tighter access could create workforce shortages, particularly around harvest periods. The government’s position is that the new settings will provide greater certainty over numbers while retaining the regional-work link.

Official sources

The main announcement is in Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke’s National Press Club speech of 17 September 2026. The Department of Home Affairs also summarises the programme changes on its Australian Government Migration Policy Changes page.

Last verified by Babylon: 19 September 2026. Working Holiday Maker rules are being progressively implemented, so applicants should confirm the latest Home Affairs instructions before relying on a ballot date or application procedure.

Featured image: Mitch Braithwaite / Unsplash.