Like a lot of the world, Australia is grappling with labor shortages after it reopened its borders to the skin world in 2022.

However in distinction to different international locations, the Australian authorities’s response to the disaster – to ramp up the variety of working-holiday visas, elevate the age restrict for some vacation makers and to increase the time you possibly can work with one employer – is nice information for vacationers pondering of taking a spot 12 months in 2023.

And there may very well be much more excellent news within the offing this 12 months, with a proposal on the desk to boost the working-holiday visa to 50 years of age, which might assist plug expertise gaps, particularly in administration degree roles. 

Fancy spending a 12 months or two dwelling, working and touring in Australia in 2023? Learn on. 

How lengthy does it take to get a working-holiday visa?

Offered you could have an up-to-date passport, fulfill the age requirement (which varies by citizenship), have some financial savings, and meet the well being and character necessities for a Working Vacation visa, you possibly can apply instantly. 

So long as you could have all the required documentation prepared, visa approvals typically get circled in lower than a day. 

How lengthy can I work in Australia for?

Australian immigration minister Andrew Giles simply introduced that working-holiday vacationers can proceed to work for a single employer for the size of their 12-month visa, rising the previous most of six months. 

It is a boon for backpackers: below the prior timeframe, some employers have been reluctant to coach working-holiday workers, figuring out they might lose them after simply six months. This modification to the visa guidelines will stay in place till mid-2023.

If, nonetheless, you need to prolong your preliminary Australian Working Vacation visa for a second 12 months (and even a 3rd 12 months), you do must do not less than 12 weeks in a specified trade and/or area. These are the place staff are most wanted in Australia: farming, fisheries, development or remote-area tourism gigs. 

In an additional enticement, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Trade’s tourism group is encouraging employers to stump up the visa charges (AU$510) for staff keen to fly over and fill job vacancies. 

What jobs are there?

Matthew Heyes of Backpacker Job Board, Australia’s largest recruitment web site for working-holiday makers, says, “Job alternatives for working-holiday makers are widespread, overlaying a spread of various sectors. There are fruit-picking…and different agricultural-based [jobs], that are actually common as a result of these roles contribute to the second- and third-year visa-extension program. The roles are additionally seasonal and provide the chance to earn nicely whereas the seasons are excessive. 

“Different cornerstones of backpacker employment embrace au pair work, plus gross sales and advertising and marketing positions in addition to different broader hospitality jobs.”

A powerful Australian greenback is one other key incentive for staff who is perhaps seeing their native foreign money tanking. Work laborious sufficient and save nicely, and you might go dwelling with some main {dollars} within the financial institution –that’s, if you happen to don’t spend all of it having the time of your life touring round Australia.  

What do I do if I’m over 30?

The proposal to increase the utmost age for the Working Vacation visa to 50 has actually piqued a whole lot of curiosity. The mid-career sabbatical – generally known as an “grownup hole 12 months” – was already gaining traction earlier than the pandemic. Because the rise of distant work, various international locations have began to supply “digital nomad” visas to induce these on-line staff to name their cities dwelling.

However the international shutdown additionally noticed lots of people reviewing what’s essential in life. Taking a 12 months out from a longtime profession to work, journey and meet new folks is simply the type of radical change many now crave rather than being tied to a display all day.

Matthew Heyes sees the potential. “It would utterly change what it’s to be a backpacker,” he says. “Not will it’s confined to the youth journey market. We may see a extra various profile of traveler in Australia’s journey journey sector. I consider this may very well be an enormous win for Australia.

“If it goes forward, it should additionally introduce a workforce to Australia who’ve a broad wealth of expertise and {qualifications}. Their profession expertise would profit the Australian economic system.” 

Doing one thing actually completely different – whether or not working exterior or in a public-facing function – someplace as pleasant, protected and delightful as Australia may very well be the journey of a lifetime. Regardless of your age.