Does mining work count towards your 88 days?
Mining counts as specified work for the 417 Working Holiday visa in Regional Australia — but it is not a specified work category for the 462 Work and Holiday visa at all.
What counts as mining
- coal mining
- oil and gas extraction
- metal ore mining
- construction material mining
- other non-metallic mineral mining and quarrying
- exploration
- mining support services
Mining is a specified work category for subclass 417 only. It is not a specified subclass 462 work category.
Where it counts, visa by visa
417 Working Holiday
Must be carried out in Regional Australia.
462 Work and Holiday
Not a specified work category — this work will not count.
Common jobs in this category
Example towns (417 rules)
Likely to qualify
- Broome, WA(417 only)
- Cairns, QLD(417 only)
- Darwin, NT(417 only)
- Bundaberg, QLD(417 only)
- Mildura, VIC(417 only)
- Alice Springs, NT(417 only)
- Port Douglas, QLD(417 only)
- Airlie Beach, QLD(417 only)
Derived from the current official postcode classifications. The work itself must still fit the category definition above.
Official sources
Migration (Specified work and areas for subclass 417 visas) Instrument (LIN 22/012) 2022 — Compilation No. 3
Federal Register of Legislation · last checked 12 August 2026
View official government source ↗Specified work for Working Holiday visa (subclass 417)
Department of Home Affairs · last checked 12 August 2026
View official government source ↗
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Other work categories
General information only, based on rules last checked 12 August 2026 — not immigration advice.