Key Highlight:
- Registration for the 2026-2027 subclass 462 visa ballot will close on Thursday, June 25, 2026.
- Passport holders of China, India, and Vietnam are the only ones who must enter this random selection pool.
- A non-refundable AUD $25 fee is required from applicants when submitting their ballot registration through ImmiAccount.
- Visa grants are limited annually to 5,000 for China, 1,000 for India, and 1,500 for Vietnam.
- Those who are selected will get their invitations to apply from July 2, 2026, to April 30, 2027.
The Department of Home Affairs of Australia announced that the application period for entry into the ballot for the 2026-2027 Work and Holiday (subclass 462) visa ends on Thursday, June 25, 2026. Those eligible from China, India, and Vietnam passport holders still have a chance to register their first visa application. The pre-application procedure for these countries, which has been made mandatory since October 2024, has replaced the old first-come, first-served model, and this new model ensures everyone is given fair access even when demand is very high.
The very first thing the applicant needs to do is to create an account on the ImmiAccount website and register during the period from 6th June to 25th June 2026, while making a payment of a non-refundable fee of AUD $25. If the applicant is registered successfully, he/she will be placed with other registered candidates for the lottery, and only the fortunate ones will be invited to apply. They will be granted a 28-day period to submit a visa application, subject to the fulfillment of all eligibility criteria, including the age limit of 18-30 years and the requirement to have functional English.
The program runs with annual quotas; for example, the Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement allows for only 1,000 Indian nationals to be granted per program year. China and Vietnam have quotas of 5,000 and 1,500, respectively. A Department also cautions that being selected is not the same as having the visa issued and that applicants should not make any travel plans before receiving a written confirmation. Such a highly organized system is intended to protect the viability of the Working Holiday Maker program, while giving young travelers from Asia great opportunities.