What the two visas allow
Home Affairs describes both visas as extended holidays that let you work to help fund the trip.
| Working Holiday (417) | Work and Holiday (462) | |
|---|---|---|
| Age, as Home Affairs describes it | 18 to 30 | 18 to 30 |
| Purpose | An extended holiday, with work to help fund it | An extended holiday, with work to help fund it |
| Home Affairs pages | First and third 417 | First 462 |
The length of stay, work and study limits, family rules and what counts towards a later visa are set out on those Home Affairs pages and can depend on your passport country. Use the page for your own visa and your grant letter rather than a summary.
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What lender and broker pages say
Not much. CommBank's page for people moving to Australia asks residents on a temporary visa to book a Home Lending Specialist to check whether their visa classification is eligible, and it lists no subclasses. ANZ's quick online application is limited to citizens and permanent residents with primary income in Australian dollars, and Westpac's online application has a citizen or permanent resident condition. Both say other applicants can get in touch.
Two brokers set out criteria for other temporary visas, but neither page mentions the working holiday visas. One page, updated 18 September 2026, says lenders may look at the time left on the visa, employment stability and the path to permanent residency, and that no Australia-wide rule sets the months remaining. How any lender weighs those factors for a 12-month working holiday visa is not published.
If you are weighing this visa against others, the student visa, 485 graduate visa and 482 visa guides cover visas where broker records do exist.
What the foreign investment rules mean
Treasury's guidance says a person is only ordinarily resident if they have been in Australia for 200 or more days of the preceding 12 months and their continued presence is not subject to any time limit. Its example of a visiting professor on an 18-month visa is a foreign person for that reason. It also describes a foreign non-resident as someone whose visa lets them stay for only a limited period, generally under 12 months.
Treasury defines a temporary resident as someone holding a visa that permits a continuous stay of more than 12 months, and the ATO words the test as 12 months or more. For a 12-month visa that wording could change the label, but a person whose stay is limited by time is a foreign person either way.
For a foreign person:
- established dwellings are generally banned from 1 April 2025 to 30 June 2029, with limited exceptions for redevelopment, commercial-scale housing and employers of Pacific workers;
- new dwellings and vacant land need approval, and vacant land approvals are generally conditional on building within four years;
- the 2026-27 application fee is $15,600 for a new dwelling or vacant residential land priced from $75,000 to $1 million, and $4,600 below $75,000;
- Treasury's residential real estate page lists joint tenants buying with an Australian citizen or permanent resident spouse as not needing to apply, and names joint tenants only.
Because no lender publishes a maximum loan for this visa, the table shows only how the fixed fee sits on top of a deposit at three sizes. It is an illustration, not a lending limit. The example is a $500,000 new apartment bought in your own name.
| Deposit | Amount | Plus $15,600 fee |
|---|---|---|
| 10% | $50,000 | $65,600 |
| 20% | $100,000 | $115,600 |
| 30% | $150,000 | $165,600 |
Stamp duty, state foreign buyer surcharges, legal costs and any mortgage insurance are extra. See costs of buying and the state table on the temporary visa page. The sister guide on whether foreigners can buy property in Australia covers the approval side.
Questions to take to a lender or broker
Policy is not published, so the answer has to come from the lender. Useful questions are:
- Does the lender accept subclass 417 or 462 at all?
- Does it count income earned on this visa, and at what share?
- Does it need a minimum period left on the visa?
- Does overseas income count? See how lenders count foreign income.
- Does a citizen or permanent resident co-borrower change its policy?
See questions to ask a mortgage broker for a longer list.
Keep reading
Frequently asked questions
Can I buy a house in Australia on a working holiday visa?
Not an established one, as a general rule, until 30 June 2029. Treasury's guidance treats you as a foreign person. New dwellings and vacant land may be possible with approval and conditions. Treasury lists joint tenants buying with a citizen or permanent resident spouse as not needing to apply. A solicitor can confirm your position before you sign.
Do lenders accept the 417 or 462 visa?
The pages reviewed for this guide do not say. CommBank asks temporary visa residents to speak to a specialist, and the online routes at ANZ and Westpac are limited to citizens and permanent residents. A broker or the lender's team can say whether a particular lender accepts your visa.
Does a second or third working holiday visa change anything?
The sources reviewed do not say so. Home Affairs has separate pages for the first and third 417 and for the 462. Treasury's test turns on whether your stay is limited by time, which would still apply to a time-limited visa. A lender's own policy is a separate matter.
Can my overseas income count towards a loan?
One broker says some lenders accept foreign income and apply a reduction, or shading, rather than using all of it. How a lender treats it depends on its policy and the currency. See how lenders count foreign income. The pages reviewed do not name working holiday visa holders.
Sources
- First Working Holiday visa (subclass 417), Department of Home Affairs
- Third Working Holiday visa (subclass 417), Department of Home Affairs
- First Work and Holiday visa (subclass 462), Department of Home Affairs
- Residential real estate, Foreign investment in Australia (Treasury)
- Guidance Note 2: Key concepts (v5, 12 December 2025), Treasury
- Guidance Note 6: Residential land (v5, 1 July 2026), Treasury
- Schedule of Fees (v8, 1 July 2026), Treasury
- Foreign person definition and the ban on established dwellings, Australian Taxation Office
- Making the move, CommBank
- Quick Start home loan application, ANZ
- How to apply for a home loan, Westpac
- Visa home loans, Hunter Galloway (broker page, lender records dated 30 July 2026)
- Temporary resident home loan, Home Loan Experts (broker page, updated 18 September 2026)
Checked 7 October 2026.
Expat Finance is an independent guide. It is not a lender, mortgage broker or credit provider, it does not hold an Australian credit licence, and it does not give credit, legal, tax or migration advice. It is not affiliated with any bank, the ATO or the Foreign Investment Review Board. General information only, not legal, tax, migration or financial advice.