Malaysians hoping to spend a year working and travelling in Australia may have to hold off on their plans for now.
Australia has temporarily paused applications for the first Work and Holiday visa (subclass 462) from Malaysia, Singapore and 22 other countries.
According to the Australian Government’s Department of Home Affairs, Malaysia is currently listed as “paused” under the programme’s country cap system, with an annual allocation of 1,100 visas.
Singapore, which has an annual cap of 2,500 visas, is also currently paused.
It does not mean the programme has been cancelled
However, a “paused” status does not mean Malaysians have permanently lost access to the visa.
Home Affairs explained that applications may be temporarily paused to control the number of applications received, spread applications throughout the programme year, or closely monitor numbers when a country is approaching its annual visa cap.
The department also states that applications may be paused to support the Australian Government’s broader migration settings while ensuring the programme operates sustainably.
This is different from a “closed” status, which means all available visa places for that programme year have already been filled and applications will only reopen in the next programme year.
These are the 24 countries currently affected
According to the latest country cap status published by the Australian Department of Home Affairs, the countries currently listed as “paused” are:
- Argentina
- Austria
- Brazil
- Chile
- Czech Republic
- Ecuador
- Greece
- Hungary
- Indonesia
- Israel
- Luxembourg
- Malaysia
- Mongolia
- Papua New Guinea
- Peru
- Poland
- Portugal
- Singapore
- Slovak Republic
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Switzerland
- Thailand
- Uruguay
Meanwhile, San Marino and Türkiye are currently listed as open.
China, India and Vietnam use a separate ballot or pre-application process for their first Work and Holiday visas.
Only first Work and Holiday visas are affected by the cap
The annual country caps apply specifically to first Work and Holiday subclass 462 visas.
Home Affairs states that there are no country caps for second or third Work and Holiday visas, meaning the development should not be interpreted as Australia stopping all working holiday visa applications from Malaysians.
Applications for countries subjected to annual subclass 462 caps open each programme year on 2 July, Australian Eastern Standard Time.
Australia seeing high volume of applications
The Australian Government has also acknowledged that it is currently receiving a high volume of Working Holiday subclass 417 and Work and Holiday subclass 462 visa applications.
As a result, applications are taking longer than usual to be finalised, and applicants are advised not to book their travel until they receive written confirmation that their visa has been granted.
Australia’s Working Holiday Maker programme allows eligible young adults to spend up to 12 months in Australia, during which they can undertake short term work and study.
The programme covers more than 40 partner countries and jurisdictions through the Working Holiday subclass 417 and Work and Holiday subclass 462 visas.
