Moving to Australia from the UK for work

Working holiday visa Australia UK: who can apply and for how long

Home Affairs says UK passport holders can apply for a Working Holiday visa (subclass 417) between the ages of 18 and 35 inclusive, and you can lodge an application until midnight Australian Eastern Standard Time on the day before your 36th birthday. For applications lodged on or after 1 July 2024, UK passport holders can be granted up to three separate Working Holiday visas without meeting any specified work requirement, such as farm work, before the second or third visa.

Each visa lasts 12 months, so the longest stay is three years. The visas do not have to be taken one after another, and the second and third can be applied for from inside or outside Australia. The first visa is applied for online from outside Australia. On 1 November 2026 Home Affairs listed a charge of AUD 840 for the first visa and AUD 1,000 for the second and third, so check the current charge. It expects processing to average around three months and advises you not to book flights or make travel, work or study commitments until the visa is granted. This is general information, not migration advice. Speak to a registered migration agent.

• Working holiday visa jobs, for people already in Australia
• Home Affairs: arrangements for UK passport holders

Which limits still apply while you work on a Working Holiday visa?

Home Affairs says the six-month work limitation per employer and the four-month study limit still apply to UK passport holders. The six-month limit is visa condition 8547. From 1 January 2024, Working Holiday visa holders can work for the same employer for more than six months without asking permission in some kinds of work. These include plant and animal cultivation, natural disaster recovery work, and critical sectors anywhere in Australia: agriculture and food processing, health, aged and disability care and childcare, and tourism and hospitality. Certain industries, such as construction and mining, count in Northern Australia only.

Home Affairs says these exemptions apply until the Government makes further decisions, and it has a process for requesting permission to stay longer with one employer. Read the Home Affairs page and your own visa conditions before you accept a long placement. This is general information, not migration advice. Speak to a registered migration agent.

• Home Affairs: 6 month work limitation

Over 35, or want to stay longer than a working holiday?

Once you are over 35, or have used your three Working Holiday visas, a longer stay needs a different visa. An employer-sponsored visa is one route in general terms. Home Affairs describes the Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482) as letting an employer sponsor a suitably skilled worker to fill a position it cannot fill with a suitably skilled Australian, and the worker must be nominated for a skilled position by an approved sponsor. The employer applies to sponsor and nominate, and Home Affairs decides the visa. CrossNation cannot sponsor you or promise a job. This is general information, not migration advice. Speak to a registered migration agent.

• Work in Australia from overseas
• Employer-sponsored jobs explained

Can a UK nurse work in Australia on a working holiday visa?

Yes, if you register first. The Working Holiday visa lets you work, and Home Affairs lists health, and aged and disability care, among the critical sectors where a Working Holiday visa holder can work for the same employer for more than six months without asking permission. Working as a registered nurse also needs registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia through Ahpra, which is separate from the visa and comes first. Roles that do not need nurse registration, such as some care support roles, have their own requirements, which the employer sets out in the job advertisement. This is general information, not migration advice. Speak to a registered migration agent.

• Nursing jobs
• Working holiday visa jobs, for people already in Australia

UK nurses moving to Australia: the NMBA pathway

To work as a nurse in Australia you must be registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) through Ahpra, and registration is separate from any visa. The NMBA standard for general registration of internationally qualified registered nurses came into effect on 23 April 2025. It streamlines assessment and registration for eligible nurses who have registered and practised as a registered nurse in an NMBA-approved comparable international jurisdiction. The NMBA publishes the approved list of comparable international regulatory jurisdictions and a pathways diagram for eligibility with the standard, so read both before you apply.

Nurses who do not meet the standard stay with the existing assessment process for internationally qualified nurses and midwives, which starts with an online self-check, and every applicant must also meet the NMBA core standards, including the English language skills standard. Ahpra also asks for an international criminal history check for each country you have lived in for six consecutive months as an adult. Check the NMBA page for the route that applies to you, and do not pay anyone who claims to guarantee your registration. Time frames depend on the Board and on your documents, so ask Ahpra before you resign or book travel. This is general information, not migration advice. Speak to a registered migration agent.

• NMBA: general registration for internationally qualified registered nurses
• Nurses working in Australia from overseas
• Nursing jobs
• Registered nurse role guide

Care worker jobs in Australia from the UK: aged care and disability support

Aged care, disability support and childcare are among the critical sectors where a Working Holiday visa holder can stay with one employer for more than six months, so a care role can run longer than a typical working holiday job (Home Affairs, read on 1 November 2026). Roles that support NDIS participants may need an NDIS worker screening check. The NDIS Commission says the check is needed in risk-assessed roles for registered providers, is valid for up to 5 years, is nationally recognised, and is applied for through the screening unit in the state or territory where you live.

Your employer will tell you whether a role needs a check. Tell us about your care experience, the settings you prefer, such as home care, residential aged care or supported accommodation, and the shifts you can work. We discuss roles with you when an employer is looking for your profile. This is general information, not migration advice. Speak to a registered migration agent.

• Aged care and disability support workers from overseas
• Aged care jobs
• Disability support jobs
• NDIS worker screening check guide

Trades and licensed work for UK tradespeople

Licensed trades such as electrical and plumbing work are regulated by each state or territory, not nationally. South Australia's licensing page says licences from countries other than New Zealand are generally not recognised, but your overseas qualifications and experience can be assessed. It adds that plumbers, gas fitters and electricians may apply for a restricted licence if they hold an Offshore Technical Skills Record from an approved assessor listed by Trades Recognition Australia. Western Australia's plumbers licensing page also sends international applicants to an Offshore Technical Skills Record or a Technical Skills Assessment Record first.

Other trades have their own rules, so look up the regulator in the state where you plan to work before you accept licensed work. Our electrician guide sets out the state regulators and the licence steps, and the trades and FIFO guide for workers from overseas covers assessments and site work.

• Electrician licensing guide, state by state
• Tradespeople and FIFO workers from overseas
• Trades jobs