Specified work is any type of work described in the list below (it must be the primary role, function or activity):

  • Plant and animal cultivation
    • plant and animal cultivation
    • the harvesting and/or packing of fruit and vegetable crops
    • pruning and trimming vines and trees
    • general maintenance crop work
    • cultivating or propagating plants, fungi or their products or parts
    • immediate processing of plant products
    • maintaining animals for the purpose of selling them or their bodily produce, including natural increase
    • immediate processing of animal products including shearing, butchery, packing and tanning
    • manufacturing dairy produce from raw material
  • Fishing and pearling
    • conducting operations relating directly to taking or catching fish and other aquatic species
    • conducting operations relating directly to taking or culturing pearls or pearl shell
  • Tree farming and felling
    • planting or tending trees in a plantation or forest that are intended to be felled
    • felling trees in a plantation or forest
    • transporting trees or parts of trees that were felled in a plantation or forest to the place where they are to be milled
  • Mining (more information on the ANZSIC website)
    • coal mining
    • oil and gas extraction
    • metal ore mining
    • construction material mining
    • non-metallic mineral mining and quarrying exploration
    • mining support services
  • Construction (more information on the ANZSIC website)
    • residential building construction
    • non-residential building construction
    • heavy and civil engineering construction
    • land development and site preparation services
    • building structure services
    • building installation services
    • building completion services
    • other construction services


Examples of eligible specified work

  • picking fruits on an orchard
  • feeding and herding cattle on a farm
  • horse breeding and stud farming
  • landscaping the grounds of a construction/house site
  • painting the interior/exterior of new buildings
  • conservation and environmental reforestation work
  • zoo work involving plant or animal cultivation
  • erecting fences on a construction site
  • scaffolding


Examples of ineligible specified work

  • ship/boat building
  • performing specialised social science services (such as anthropological and archaeological assessments) for mining companies
  • town planning or architecture
  • working as a nanny / au pair on a farm
  • working at a cellar door providing wine tastings
  • manufacturing materials used on a construction site (such as concrete or steel)
  • cooking/catering on a mine site
  • cleaning the interior of mine complexes or buildings
  • General garden maintenance
  • Maintaining animals for tourism or recreational purposes
  • Secondary processing of animal products, such as small goods processing and retail butchery
  • Supporting work, such as book-keeping

Specified work in disaster affected areas

Construction work can be vital in helping regional disaster zones, such as those affected by flood or bushfire, to rebuild and recover from disaster. Working Holiday visa holders who conduct construction work in eligible regional areas of Australia following disasters can count the work as specified work.

Examples of construction work that qualify as specified work include:

  • demolition of buildings, trench digging, land clearing and earth moving
  • residential and non-residential construction or renovation/repair, including of roads, footpaths, bridges, parking lots, fencing, railways, dams, irrigation systems, sewage and storm water drainage systems

A full list of eligible construction activities is available from the Australia Bureau of Statistics website