On Saturday 4 April 2020, Acting Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs, Alan Tudge, made the following announcements for those holding temporary visas in Australia.

The Australian 2019/20 bushfire season has been one of the worst natural disasters our country has faced.

We have previously discussed the impact of the bushfires on various visa subclasses in our recent article: https://www.workvisalawyers.com.au/news/all/how-will-the-bushfire-crisis-impact-on-australian-visas-and-immigration-1.html

Among the affected visa holders, Working Holiday (subclass 417) and Work and Holiday (subclass 462), have felt the biggest impact. Working holidaymakers may have experienced disruptions to their work and thus, are unable to meet the specified work required to extend their visas. Others may have been turned away from fire and drought affected areas as there is simply no work available.

Following recommendations from the National Bushfire Recovery Agency, changes to working holiday visas were announced today. These changes are mutually beneficial for fire affected regions and working holiday visa applicants and holders.