What counts as specified work in Australia
Updated 12 August 2026
Specified work is work in an approved industry, done in an approved area of Australia. Both parts matter: bartending counts in Broome but not in Byron Bay; mining counts on a 417 but never on a 462.
The categories
- Plant and animal cultivation — harvesting, packing, pruning, crop work, animal care, shearing (both visas)
- Fishing and pearling — 417: Regional Australia; 462: Northern Australia only
- Tree farming and felling — 417: Regional Australia; 462: Northern Australia only
- Construction — building, civil engineering, site preparation and related services (both visas)
- Mining — 417 only; not a 462 category
- Tourism and hospitality — both visas, but only in Northern Australia, Remote and Very Remote Australia, and postcodes 4406, 4416, 4498 and 7215, for work after 21 June 2021
- Bushfire recovery — paid or volunteer, in declared areas, after 31 July 2019
- Flood, cyclone and severe weather recovery — in declared areas, after 31 December 2021
- Critical COVID-19 healthcare work — anywhere in Australia, after 31 January 2020
Work that never counts
- Au pair, nanny and childcare work
- Retail and supermarket work
- Office, admin and call-centre work
- General delivery, courier and rideshare driving
- Hospitality outside the eligible northern and remote areas
Duties beat job titles
The rules describe kinds of work, not job titles. A 'cleaner' can be doing tourism and hospitality work (hotel housekeeping), construction work (site clean-up) or ineligible domestic work. When a title is ambiguous, check what you'll actually be doing — our checker asks the extra question where it matters.
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 ↗Migration (Specified work and areas for subclass 462 visas) Instrument (LIN 22/013) 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 ↗Specified work for Work and Holiday visa (subclass 462)
Department of Home Affairs · last checked 12 August 2026
View official government source ↗