Australia’s Work and Holiday Visa Faces High Demand in 2026

The Work and Holiday (subclass 462) visa program in Australia is currently facing strong demand from foreign nationals. The Department of Home Affairs confirmed that applications from certain partner countries have already exceeded or are nearing the available places for the current program year.

As of 12 October 2026, Brazil and Mongolia have their application caps paused, with Brazil having an annual grant cap of 500 visas and Mongolia at 100. A paused cap means no new applications can be submitted until the department reopens the allocation or the next program year starts on 2 July.

Countries like China, India, Indonesia, and Vietnam do not follow the standard cap system; instead, their nationals must participate in a pre-application ballot process. China and Indonesia have the highest annual grant caps of 5,000 visas.

For other countries where applications remain open, caps vary significantly, from 100 slots for Ecuador, Luxembourg, Marino, and Türkiye, to 3,400 for Argentina, Chile, and Spain.