Does packing count as specified work?

Yes. Packing fruit and vegetables counts as specified work, as long as it's directly tied to the commercial cultivation of the produce. Sorting, grading and packing at the farm or packing shed all qualify. Packing in a city-based processing factory that isn't tied to growing the produce is the grey area, so check the postcode and the nature of the work before you start.

Does pruning count as specified work?

Yes. Pruning, trimming and thinning vines and trees count as specified work when they're part of commercial plant cultivation. This is standard farm work and qualifies under the plant cultivation category. General garden maintenance and landscaping do not count, even though they involve pruning.

Does volunteer or unpaid work count for 88 days?

No. All specified work must be paid in line with Australian law and the relevant award. Volunteer work, WWOOFing and unpaid farm stays no longer count toward your 88 days. You need payslips, your employer's ABN and tax records to prove the work, so it has to be properly paid employment.

Does work in a city count as specified work?

No. Specified work must be done in an approved regional postcode. Farm work, construction or any other eligible job done in Greater Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, the Gold Coast or the ACT does not count. The postcode matters as much as the type of work. Check the postcode against the Department of Home Affairs list before you start.

What's the difference between specified work for a 417 and a 462 visa?

The list of eligible industries is broadly the same, but tourism and hospitality in Northern Australia counts for the Work and Holiday (subclass 462) visa and not for the Working Holiday (subclass 417) visa. The time required is also stated as a minimum of 88 calendar days, which works out to roughly 3 months. Always confirm the rules for your exact visa subclass and passport on the Department of Home Affairs website.

Does the same work count for a third year visa?

Yes, the same categories of specified work count for a third year visa. The difference is the amount. For a third year you need 6 months (179 days) of specified work completed during your second year, in an approved postcode, paid and documented the same way. The type of work that qualifies doesn't change between the second and third year.

What Counts as Specified Work for a Second Year Visa (2026)

June 22, 2026/FWA Staff

Specified work is the paid, regional work you need to do to get a second or third year on your Working Holiday Visa. The most common type is farm work, but mining, construction, fishing, forestry and a few other industries count too.

Here’s the short version. To qualify, the work has to be:

A job in an eligible industry (the full list is below)
Done in an approved regional postcode
Paid properly, in line with the relevant Australian award
Backed by payslips, your employer’s ABN and tax records

Get all four right and the work counts. Miss one and it doesn’t, no matter how hard you worked. This piece covers exactly which jobs qualify, which don’t, and the edge cases people ask about most.

For the bigger picture on counting days, postcodes and pay, start with our 88 Days Farm Work Australia guide. This page is the deep dive on the work itself.

The Eligible Work Categories

The Department of Home Affairs groups specified work into a handful of industries. Here’s what each one covers and whether the everyday jobs inside it count.

Category	Examples	Counts?
Plant cultivation	Fruit and veg picking, packing, pruning, thinning, harvesting, planting	Yes
Animal cultivation	Dairy, shearing, cattle mustering, feedlot and livestock work	Yes
Fishing and pearling	Deckhand work, aquaculture, pearling operations	Yes
Tree farming and felling	Plantation work, forestry, felling	Yes
Mining	Coal, metal ore, oil and gas, quarrying in regional areas	Yes
Construction	Residential, commercial and civil building in regional areas	Yes
Bushfire and flood recovery	Paid recovery work in declared disaster areas	Yes
Tourism and hospitality	Pubs, cafes, tour work in Northern Australia (462 visa only)	Sometimes

Plant and animal cultivation is the route most backpackers take. It’s the broadest category and the one farm jobs fall under. If you’re growing, maintaining or harvesting crops or livestock on a commercial farm in an approved postcode, you’re almost certainly covered.

The other industries are real options too. A regional construction site, a mine in the Pilbara, a fishing trawler out of a coastal town, or a forestry plantation all count if the postcode is approved and the work is paid.

Tourism and Hospitality: The 462 Exception

This one trips people up, so it’s worth being clear.

Tourism and hospitality work counts as specified work, but only for the Work and Holiday visa (subclass 462), and only in Northern Australia or remote and very remote areas. It does not count for the Working Holiday visa (subclass 417).

So if you’re on a 462 visa and you work in a pub or on a tour in a qualifying remote postcode, that can count toward your days. A few specific postcodes also qualify for hospitality work. If you’re on a 417 visa, hospitality doesn’t count at all, anywhere.

Check your exact visa subclass before you plan around hospitality work. Getting this wrong is one of the more expensive mistakes you can make.

What Does NOT Count

Plenty of work feels like it should count but doesn’t. Here’s where people lose days.

Work in a major city. Even eligible work in Greater Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, the Gold Coast or the ACT doesn’t count. The postcode has to be approved. See approved postcodes for 88 days to check yours.
Unpaid or volunteer work. WWOOFing, farm stays and any unpaid work no longer count. You must be paid in line with the award.
Cash in hand with no records. If there are no payslips, no ABN and nothing reported to the ATO, you can’t prove the work. It won’t be accepted.
General garden maintenance and landscaping. Mowing, hedging and tidying private gardens isn’t plant cultivation, even though it involves plants.
Office and admin jobs. Reception, bookkeeping or data entry on a farm property doesn’t count. The work has to be the hands-on cultivation itself.
Hobby farms and non-commercial operations. The cultivation has to be tied to commercial sale of the produce. Helping out on a small non-commercial property won’t qualify.
Self-employment or freelancing. You need to be employed and paid by someone with an ABN.

The pattern is simple. Specified work is paid, commercial, hands-on work in an eligible industry in an approved regional postcode. Anything that falls outside that gets refused.

The Common Edge Cases

These are the questions backpackers ask most, answered straight.

Does packing count? Yes. Packing, sorting and grading fruit and veg counts when it’s tied to the cultivation of the produce, usually at the farm or packing shed. You don’t have to be out in the field picking. The packing shed counts.

Does pruning count? Yes. Pruning, thinning and trimming vines and trees is standard plant cultivation work. It’s one of the most common winter jobs and it qualifies.

Does volunteering count? No. Unpaid work doesn’t count anymore. You need paid employment with a paper trail.

Does dairy or livestock count? Yes. Animal cultivation covers dairy, shearing, mustering and feedlot work. It’s a year-round option in many regions.

Does construction count? Yes, in a regional area. A building site in an approved postcode counts. The same job in a capital city doesn’t.

Does processing count? Immediate processing tied to the farm (the packing shed, grading line) counts. A standalone city processing factory is the grey area. Check the postcode and how directly the work ties to the cultivation.

For more on which roles to look for, see our guide to second year visa jobs in Australia.

Second Year vs Third Year

The work that counts is the same for both. What changes is how much.

Second year visa: 88 days (about 3 months) of specified work during your first year.
Third year visa: 6 months (179 days) of specified work done during your second year.

Same eligible industries. Same postcode rule. Same need for payslips and proof. You just need to do more of it for the third year, and the days don’t carry over from one year to the next.

The 462 visa works on a similar three-month minimum for the second year, with the hospitality exception noted above. The exact day counts and definitions are set by the Department of Home Affairs, so confirm the numbers for your visa before you commit to a season.

How to Make Sure Your Work Counts

A quick checklist before you accept any job:

Check the industry. Is it on the eligible list above?
Check the postcode. Look it up against the approved postcodes list. Don’t take the employer’s word for it.
Confirm you’ll be paid properly. Award rates, payslips, the lot.
Get the employer’s ABN. No ABN, no proof.
Keep records from day one. Payslips, contract, bank statements, tax records.

Plan your work around the harvest if you’re going the farm route. Our fruit picking seasons guide shows what’s being picked where, so you can find steady work and bank your days without big gaps.

Ready to start? Most backpackers head to Queensland for reliable year-round work. Browse farm jobs in Queensland to see what’s on now.

A Final Word

The rules around specified work change. The postcode list was last expanded on 5 April 2025, and definitions get updated from time to time. Everything here is current as of writing, but your visa is too important to run on a blog post alone.

Always confirm the current rules for your exact visa subclass and passport against the official Department of Home Affairs guidance before you start work. If a job sounds borderline, check it first. Done days that don’t count are days you can’t get back.

Last updated: May 2026. Specified work rules, eligible industries and postcodes are checked against the latest Department of Home Affairs information. Rules can change. Always verify current requirements with the Department of Home Affairs before making decisions about your visa.