Australia Working Holiday Visa (417/462) Changes From 1 July 2026: Fee Increases and Age Limit Raised to 35 for 4 Countries

If you’re planning a Working Holiday (subclass 417) or Work and Holiday (subclass 462) visa to Australia, 1 July 2026 marks a real turning point. From this date, the Department of Home Affairs increased visa application charges and, separately, raised the age eligibility ceiling for four passport countries. Both changes affect your budget and, for some applicants, whether you’re even eligible to apply at all.

This article walks through every confirmed change to the 417 and 462 visas from 1 July 2026: the new fee structure, which countries received an age limit increase, related updates to the 462 program, and whether applications lodged before the change date are affected. Figures are labelled as either officially confirmed or industry-estimated, so you can double-check anything before you lodge.

How much did the 417/462 visa fee increase from 1 July 2026?

The base application charge for both the 417 Working Holiday visa and 462 Work and Holiday visa rose to AUD 840 for first-time applicants, and AUD 1,000 for second and third applications, effective for any application lodged on or after 1 July 2026. This is part of a broader restructuring of visa application charges across nearly every visa category, which took effect the same day.

Here’s the breakdown:

Visa	First application	Second/Third application	Pacific-region concession
417 Working Holiday	AUD 840	AUD 1,000	–
462 Work and Holiday	AUD 840	AUD 1,000	AUD 690

A few things worth noting:

• Applications lodged before 1 July 2026 are not affected. If you submitted your application before the change date, you paid under the old fee schedule and won’t be charged a top-up, regardless of when a decision is made.
• A formal Pacific-region fee tier is now a permanent structural feature, not a one-off waiver, covering Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Samoa, Tonga, Kiribati, Tuvalu, Nauru, Palau, and the Federated States of Micronesia.
• Visa fees are generally non-refundable, even if the application is refused or withdrawn.

These figures are drawn from multiple independent migration-industry reports rather than a directly fetched government pricing table at the time of writing. Always confirm the exact current fee on the Department of Home Affairs Visa Pricing Estimator before you lodge, since fees can be adjusted.

Which countries got their age limit raised from 30 to 35?

The Department of Home Affairs confirmed that, from 1 July 2026, passport holders from Cyprus, Finland, Germany, and the Republic of Korea will be eligible to apply for a Working Holiday (subclass 417) visa up to the age of 35 (inclusive), up from the previous ceiling of 30. This is an official government-announced change, not an industry estimate.

In practice, this means eligible applicants from these four countries can now lodge their applications up to 11:59 pm Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST) on the day before their 36th birthday, rather than being cut off at 31.

The full updated age-eligibility table for the 417 visa now looks like this:

Country/Region	Age range
Belgium	18–30
Canada	18–35
Republic of Cyprus	18–35 (raised 1 July 2026)
Denmark	18–35
Estonia	18–30
Finland	18–35 (raised 1 July 2026)
France	18–35
Germany	18–35 (raised 1 July 2026)
Hong Kong SAR	18–30
Republic of Ireland	18–35
Italy	18–35
Japan	18–30
Republic of Korea	18–35 (raised 1 July 2026)
Malta	18–30
Netherlands	18–30
Norway	18–30
Sweden	18–30
Taiwan (non-official/diplomatic passport)	18–30
United Kingdom (incl. BNO passport)	18–35

A few details matter here:

• Age is assessed at the time of application, not at the date of entry or the date a decision is made.
• The midnight cut-off is always in AEST/AEDT, not the applicant’s local time zone, so convert the deadline carefully and don’t wait until your actual birthday to apply.
• If you apply at 30 (or 35) and turn 31 (or 36) before a decision is made, the visa can still be granted as long as you met all other requirements at the time you applied.

What else changed for the 462 visa around this date?

Beyond the 417 age-limit change, a few other updates affect the structure and process of the 462 Work and Holiday visa:

• Uruguay’s quota increased. From 1 July 2026, up to 1,500 first Work and Holiday (462) visas are available each program year to Uruguayan passport holders, finalising an agreement previously reached between the two governments.
• Luxembourg applicants no longer need a Letter of Support. From 3 June 2026, Luxembourg passport holders applying for a 462 visa no longer need to submit a government Letter of Support with their application, simplifying the paperwork.
• The China, India and Vietnam ballot system continues. Applicants from these three countries must still register and be selected in a ballot before they can lodge a 462 application. Registrations for the 2026–2027 program year closed on 25 June 2026, so it’s worth watching the official page for the next registration window.
• The Czech Republic pilot arrangement continues. Czech applicants can still apply for a 462 visa online through ImmiAccount under the extended pilot arrangement.

These don’t all fall exactly on 1 July, but they’re part of the same window of 462 program updates worth knowing about if you’re planning to apply this year.

Do these changes affect applications already lodged?

No. Every change described above, the fee increases, and the four-country age limit increase, applies only to applications lodged on or after 1 July 2026. If you already submitted your 417 or 462applicationsbefore that date, your fee and your age eligibility are assessed under the rules that applied when you lodged, not the new ones.

In short:

• Already lodged and awaiting a decision: unaffected; old fee and old-age rules apply.
• Planning to lodge after 1 July 2026:budget and plan around the new fee and age limits.
• Cyprus, Finland, Germany, or Korea passport holders aged 31–35: this is the group that benefits most directly, since you’re newly eligible, but the closer you are to 36, the less buffer time you have before the cut-off.

Working Holiday Visa: Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: I already hold a first 417 visa. How much more will a second application cost?

Second and third applications carry a base fee of AUD 1,000, up from AUD 840 for the first application. Confirm the exact figure on the official pricing estimator before you lodge, since some circumstances affect the final charge.

Q2: Which countries qualify for the Pacific-region concession on the 462 visa?

Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Samoa, Tonga, Kiribati, Tuvalu, Nauru, Palau, and the Federated States of Micronesia. Eligible applicants currently pay a reduced fee of AUD 690.

Q3: Does the age limit increase to 35 also apply to the 462 visa?

The confirmed age-limit increase (Cyprus, Finland, Germany, Republic of Korea) applies to the 417 Working Holiday visa. Age eligibility for the 462 Work and Holiday visa depends on the specific bilateral arrangement for each country, so check that country’s own criteria.

Q4: Where can I check the most current official fees and eligibility?

Use the Department of Home Affairs’ Visa Pricing Estimator for fees, and the 417/462 visa pages on immi.homeaffairs.gov.au for the latest eligibility rules, as details can change over time.

Q5: When does the next China/India/Vietnam 462 ballot registration open?

Registration for the 2026–2027 program year closed on 25 June 2026. Check the Department’s official news page regularly, since each program year has its own registration and ballot window.

Next step: for Working Holiday Makers

If you want to confirm whether your passport and age now qualify under the updated rules, or want help budgeting for the new fee structure, get in touch with our team for a personalised eligibility check.

Source:

Department of Home Affairs Visa Pricing Estimator

Department of Home Affairs Working Holiday Maker program latest news page

Further reading links:

Australia Visa Fees July 2026: The Full List of New Costs and What They Mean for You