Temporary relaxation of working hours for student visa holders

From 1 July 2023​​, work restrictions for student visa holders will be re-introduced.

Student visa work restrictions were relaxed throughout the pandemic, and completely removed in January 2022 to allow primary and secondary student visa holders to work over their normal limit of 40 hours per fortnight to address workforce shortages.

The Australian Government has announced that student visa holders already working in the aged care sector on 9 May 2023 can continue to work unrestricted hours in the aged care sector until 31 December 2023.​

From 1 July 2023, work restrictions for all other student visa holders will be re-introduced and capped at the increased rate of 48 hours per fortnight. This ensures that student visa holders are able to focus on obtaining a quality Australian education and qualification, while remaining able to support themselves financially, gain valuable work experience, and contribute to Australia’s workforce needs.

Temporary relaxation of working hours for student visa holders

Previous update:

Student visa holder work restrictions have been further relaxed for those working in supermarkets, or associated distribution facilities located in an area impacted by COVID-19 lockdown restrictions, for the duration of the lockdown.

This relaxation of conditions are added to those of the aged care and NDIS providers, health care, agricultural, tourism and hospitality sectors.

The Government will remove existing work hour caps for Student Visa holders employed in the tourism and hospitality sector. A 40 hour fortnightly limit previously applied during study periods.

In addition, temporary visa holders will be able to access the 408 COVID-19 Pandemic Event Visa for a period of 12 months if they work in the tourism and hospitality sector. This decision adds tourism and hospitality to the critical sectors of agriculture, food processing, health care, aged care, disability care and child care for eligibility for this visa subclass.

COVID-19 has introduced a lot of changes into migration law. One of the latest changes to the law is the relaxation of working hours for student visa holders. Together with the Australian Border Force, the Department of Home Affairs will be taking a flexible approach to student visa holders working beyond the usual work limitations in certain fields.

Student visa holders are not allowed to work for more than 40 hours per fortnight (8105 condition- work rights) as part of the visa condition. However, there is now a temporary relaxation of the rules in certain circumstance.

You can work for ​more than 40 hours a fortnight if you are:

• employed by an aged care Approved Provider or Commonwealth-funded aged care service provider with a RACS ID or a NAPS ID
• employed by a registered National Disability Insurance Scheme provider (NDIS)
• enrolled in a health care related course and you are supporting the health effort against COVID-19, as directed by health officials
• employed in the agriculture sector
• employed in the tourism and hospitality sector
• in a supermarket, or associated distribution facility, located in an area impacted by COVID-19 lockdown restrictions for the duration of the lockdown.

How to determine if you are working in agriculture or tourism and hospitality sectors?

The sectors are defined using the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC) system.

For the tourism and hospitality sector, the definition also includes work for employers whose primary purpose is to directly provide a service to tourists, when their activities are not listed in the Division of Accommodation and Food Services under the ANZSIC system.

We have summarised the groups of work that belong to Agriculture, Tourism and Hospitality based on ANZIC for your reference as below

Agriculture	Nursery and Floriculture Production	Nursery Production (Under Cover)
		Nursery Production (Outdoors)
		Turf Growing
		Floriculture Production (Under Cover)
		Floriculture Production (Outdoors)
	Mushroom and Vegetable Growing	Mushroom Growing
		Vegetable Growing (Under Cover) Vegetable Growing (Outdoors)
	Fruit and Tree Nut Growing	Grape Growing
		Kiwifruit Growing
		Berry Fruit Growing
		Apple and Pear Growing
		Stone Fruit Growing
		Citrus Fruit Growing
		Olive Growing
		Other Fruit and Tree Nut Growing
	Sheep, Beef Cattle and Grain Farming	Sheep Farming (Specialised)
		Beef Cattle Farming (Specialised)
		Beef Cattle Feedlots (Specialised)
		Sheep-Beef Cattle Farming
		Grain-Sheep or Grain-Beef Cattle Farming
		Rice Growing
		Other Grain Growing
	Other Crop Growing	Sugar Cane Growing
		Cotton Growing
		Other Crop Growing n.e.c.
	Dairy Cattle Farming	Dairy Cattle Farming
	Poultry Farming	Poultry Farming (Meat)
		Poultry Farming (Eggs)
	Deer Farming	Deer Farming
	Other Livestock Farming	Horse Farming
		Pig Farming
		Beekeeping
		Other Livestock Farming n.e.c.
Accommodation and Food Services	Accommodation	Accommodation
	Food and Beverage Services	Cafes, Restaurants and Takeaway Food Services
		Cafes and Restaurants
		Takeaway Food Services
		Catering Services
	Pubs, Taverns and Bars
	Clubs (Hospitality)
	Employers whose primary purpose is to directly provide a service to tourists

​NDIS providers

There is no requirement for NDIS providers to register with the Department of Home Affairs. These providers should see the letter provided to them by the NDIS Commission for further details. See a list of NDIS providers​.

Employers​

Employers must continue to follow Australian workplace law. Overseas workers, including international students, have the same rights under Australian workplace law as all other employees.

These temporary measures will be reviewed by the government regularly. Employers will be advised when these measures no longer apply.

While these measures are in place, the Department of Home Affairs and Australian Border Force will:

• exercise their discretion under s116(1)(b) of the Migration Act 1958 to not cancel the visas of students who work in excess of 40 hours each fortnight to support your organisation
• not refer student visa holders for investigation of any potential offence under s235 of the Migration Act 1958 that might relate to the hours worked by a student visa holder in breach of their visa conditions
• not refer you or relevant third-party labour hire companies, as an employer, for investigation of any potential offence under s245AC of the Migration Act 1958 that might relate to allowing a student visa holder to work in breach of their visa co​ndi​tions.​​

Whilst there is a relaxation of the rules, employers are still expected to follow Australian employment law.

Students who intend to work more than 40 hours per fortnight should discuss an arrangement with the employer. Students are not required to place an application to work more hours.

During this period, Department of Home Affairs and the Australian Border Force will exercise their discretion not to cancel a student visa if they work more than 40 hours per fortnight.

Previous update: Student visa holders able to work more hours