Snapshot Australia

Visa options for work placement participants in australia

Student visa – Student visa holders in Australia can automatically work for up to 20 hours a week during term time and full time during the holidays.

Working holiday visa – Citizens of Belgium, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Taiwan and the UK, between the ages of 18 and 30, can apply for a one-year working holiday visa that allows them to work for up to six months with one employer in Australia.

Work and holiday visa – Citizens of Chile, Thailand, Turkey and the USA can apply for a work and holiday visa if they have graduated from higher education. US applicants must have at least graduated from high school. Work and holiday visa holders can stay for one year in Australia and undertake temporary employment. Citizens from Bangladesh and Malaysia will soon be able to apply for this visa too.

How do you think the work experience sector in Australia is developing?

Rick Jones, Monash Professional Internships, Melbourne, VIC
“The work experience market is continuing to develop in Australia. As the concept is being embraced by more and more companies, it means a greater number and a more diverse range of opportunities presents itself. Traditional programmes in the hospitality and conservation sectors continue to be popular, but we are now seeing an increase in the demand for specialised programmes in areas such as finance and engineering. The Australian market has matured to a point where it can now cater for these requests. Australian programmes continue to be popular with US students, particularly with the advent of the new Work & Holiday Visa, along with [noted popularity in] the South East Asian market.”

How do you think the work experience sector is developing in Ireland?

“We have experienced fantastic growth over the last four years going from about four students a week to 18-to-20 students a week in 2006/7. This year there has been a drop related to a slowing down in the economy since January but we still receive approximately eight-to-10 students a week. Work experience students are mostly Brazilian or European. Korean and Japanese students usually opt for internship programmes.”
Margaret Purdy, Swan Training Institute, Dublin

“I have certainly received more enquiries over the past two years or so. Many of the applicants we have are sent to us through agents of ours but I have also noticed a number of direct enquiries coming through. I have to say that this part of our business is small and we try not to overstretch ourselves as we endeavour to maintain a high level of quality and this can only be done if we monitor the companies we deal with carefully.”
Carol Gardezi, Cork English College, Cork

Unpaid work experience in Ireland

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