Australian Immigration Daily News

The Australian Government has introduced the Migration Amendment (Working Holiday Maker Age Criteria) Regulations 2026, which commence on 1 July 2026 and make technical amendments to the administration of the Working Holiday Maker (WHM) program.

The amendments do not alter the existing age eligibility requirements for the Subclass 417 (Working Holiday) or Subclass 462 (Work and Holiday) visas. Rather, they relocate the age criteria from the visa grant provisions to the visa application provisions of the Migration Regulations.

As a result, applicants must satisfy the relevant age requirements at the time of lodging a valid visa application. Applicants who do not meet the prescribed age criteria will no longer be able to lodge a valid application, rather than having their application refused after lodgement. This change provides greater certainty for applicants and avoids the payment of a visa application charge where the age requirements are not met.

The Explanatory Statement confirms that these amendments are technical in nature and do not introduce any substantive changes to the eligibility requirements of the Working Holiday Maker program.

Source: Migration-Amendment-Working-Holiday-Maker-Age-Criteria-Regulations-2026---The-Regs.pdf and 

Migration-Amendment-Working-Holiday-Maker-Age-Criteria-Regulations-2026 Explanatory.pdf