Student Visa Work Right Update Effective from 1 July 2023

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

Historically, primary student visa applicants were subject to mandatory visa condition 8105 which restricts students to 40 hours of work per fortnight while their course is in session. At the same time, condition 8104 is mandatory for all secondary student visa applicants which prevents the holder from working for more than 40 hours a fortnight while the holder is in Australia.

As a means of helping to alleviate labour shortages in Australia, student visa work restrictions were relaxed throughout the pandemic and completely removed in January 2022, permitting all students visa holders to work in Australia with no restrictions. 

From 1 July 2023, work restrictions for all student visa holders will be re-introduced and capped at the increased rate of 48 hours per fortnight. The only exception available is for student visa holders already working in the aged care sector on 9 May 2023 who are permitted to continue working unrestricted hours until 31 December 2023.​

Accordingly, we recommend that businesses take note of the changes that will take place from 1 July this year and undertake a review of its employees’ visa status via the Visa Entitlement Verification Online system (VEVO) to mitigate the risk of inadvertently permitting its employees to work in breach of his or her visa conditions.

VEVO can be found here:

https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/already-have-a-visa/check-visa-details-and-conditions/overview.

Should you require assistance and practical guidance in relation to your company and work rights associated with employees on Australian visas, our team will be happy to assist.