Australia Increases Working Hours to 48 Hours a Fortnight from July 1, 2023

The Australian Government announces an increase in the working hours from 40 hours a fortnight to 48 hours per fortnight starting from July 1, 2023. This increase in working hours has been announced in addition to the September 2022 announcement for Australia’s PSW extension by two years per level of study by Jason Clare - Minister for Education and Clare O’Neil - Minister for Home Affairs. 

This increase in the working hours from 40 to 48 hours a fortnight has come forth to bridge the employment gap faced amidst the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia across a wide number of occupations. Since only 16% of international students stay back after their education in Australia, with this new step of increasing working hours, Australia aims to retain more international students to be able to generate AUD 40.3 billion towards the economic growth of their country. Students with a Temporary Graduate Visa (subclass 485) will be eligible to extend their stay in Australia and work for two more years in the same area or regional location. 

Check: International Student Guide to Australia 

There is an exhaustive list of 121 jobs in the skill shortage area, each with a unique job code categorised into strong and moderate depending upon their future demand in Australia. Students qualifying for these jobs based on their bachelor’s may allow them to get a subclass 485 visa easily and stay and also work for longer hours in Australia after graduation from July 1, 2023, onwards. Some of the job sectors which are categorised into strong and moderate categories and are verified in Australia as skill shortages are as follows: 

This is not the entire list of occupations, there is more to this list of skill-shortage occupations - around 40 are in the strong category of demand and 81 are in the moderate category of demand in Australia in future. The entire list of skill shortages in Australia has been attached in the PDF below (after the qualifications) for reference. These skill shortages come along with a select few qualifications or courses that are acceptable to work under these skill-shortage occupations in Australia. 

Read more about: Popular Job Sectors in Australia 

There are around eight broad areas of study, each list enlists 10-12 CRICOS registered courses (attached in the PDF below). After pursuing any of these mentioned courses under the following study areas, international students can apply for the subclass 485 visa and extend their stay and working hours: 

• Medical and Nursing  
• Professional Health 
• Diagnostic 
• Allied Health  
• Teaching 
• Engineering 
• ICT 
• Agriculture 

Check out this PDF for skill shortage occupations list plus job codes and UG level courses in Australia for more details: List of Eligible Occupations and Qualifications 

This cap of working hours that is, 48 hours a fortnight applies to all international students no matter when they began studying in Australia. These students would still be eligible to extend their stay through the subclass 485 visa and work for the extended working hours starting from July 1, 2023. In case there are changes in the list of qualifications and if they are removed, the students will still be eligible to extend their stay on the work visa in Australia. Also, check all about the Australian Student Visa Guide.