Employing Working Holiday Makers in an Australian Restaurant

A Japanese working holiday maker (subclass 417, age 18 to 30) can work in your restaurant for the whole 12 month visa: hospitality is an exempt critical sector, so the usual 6 month same-employer limit does not apply anywhere in Australia. Register with the ATO to withhold 15% instead of 30%, pay the Restaurant Industry Award with casual loading, and raise 482 sponsorship by month 6 to 9 to keep a good cook past the visa.

1. The 6 month rule, and why restaurants are exempt

Every Working Holiday visa carries condition 8547: the holder must not work for one employer for more than 6 months without permission. Many owners still plan around this limit. For a restaurant, plan around the exception instead.

Since 1 January 2024, a working holiday maker can work for the same employer beyond 6 months without asking permission if the work is in a listed critical sector, anywhere in Australia. Tourism and hospitality is one, and Home Affairs names the food and beverage sector directly: cafes, restaurants, takeaway, catering, pubs, bars and hospitality clubs. We checked the Home Affairs page, updated 21 September 2026: the exemption stands and covers the rest of the visa once it applies.

2. The 417 visa in brief: age, length, cost

Home Affairs is currently prioritising onshore applications; offshore applications from Japan can take several months. If you are recruiting a cook who is still in Japan, do not commit to a start date until the visa is granted.

3. Award pay, casual loading and tax withholding

A working holiday maker is an employee like any other under Australian law. Three mechanics catch owners out:

• Classify by duties, not title. Restaurant Industry Award 2020 (MA000119) cook grades run 1 (basic prep) to 6. Skilled kitchen work, ordering and prepping fish, or training juniors sits at grade 3 or higher regardless of job title. From the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026, the Fair Work pay guide sets cook grade 3 (level 4) at A$1,119.10 a week full time, A$29.45 an hour.
• Casual loading. Most working holiday makers are casuals. The award adds 25% to the ordinary hourly rate in place of paid leave, so grade 3's casual rate is at least A$29.45 x 1.25 = A$36.81 an hour, before weekend or late penalties on top.
• Superannuation and withholding. Pay the 12% super guarantee (2026-27) regardless of visa type; the worker can claim it back on departure. Register as an employer of working holiday makers and withhold 15% up to A$45,000 a year; unregistered, withhold 30% up to A$135,000, with possible penalties.

A worked example for a registered employer, cook grade 3, 25 casual hours a week, weekdays only:

Add weekend and late-night penalties for any Friday, Saturday, Sunday or after-10pm hours; our Sydney guide shows how those stack across a five-day roster.

4. Second and third year visas: the trap for city kitchens

A second 417 needs at least 3 months (88 calendar days) of "specified work" during the first visa; a third needs at least 6 months (179 days) during the second. Hospitality only counts as specified work in Northern Australia, Remote or Very Remote Australia, or a few listed postcodes. Other specified work is farming, fishing, tree work, mining and construction in regional areas. None of that describes a kitchen in Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane.

So months in your kitchen do not count. A cook who wants a second year has to leave for at least 88 days of qualifying regional work, usually farm work. Handle it, don't fight it:

• Ask at interview whether they plan a second year and have already done specified work.
• Hire second and third year holders when you can. Applications for second and third visas are rising faster than first visas, so more candidates already have the regional work behind them.
• Agree a return date with a strong cook heading off to farm work. Nothing stops them coming back to you on the next visa.

5. Keeping them past 12 months: the path to a 482

A working holiday maker who has proven themselves for months is close to a zero-risk sponsorship candidate. A 417 is a substantive visa, so Schedule 1 of the Migration Regulations lets the person apply for a Skills in Demand (subclass 482) visa from inside Australia, without leaving. The 482 needs 1 year of relevant experience (Japan counts too), an English test for most Japanese applicants (IELTS 5.0 per band or equivalent, tests from 13 September 2025), and a salary at or above the Core Skills Income Threshold, A$79,423 for nominations from 1 July 2026. The employer process and full cost are on hiring a Japanese chef in Australia.

6. When working holiday stops being the cheap option

A working holiday hire has no sponsorship fees and no salary floor beyond the award, genuinely cheap for one 12 month engagement. It stops being cheap once you count what turnover costs:

For a support cook role, working holiday makers usually stay the cheaper answer, especially as second and third year holders become easier to find. For the person who runs your counter or sets your menu, the maths flips once two or three rounds of recruiting and retraining are weighed against one sponsorship. Decide by role, not by habit.

7. What to do this week

1. Confirm each candidate's visa on VEVO: subclass 417, expiry date, and which visa number (first, second or third).
2. Ask about second year plans and specified work already completed.
3. Register with the ATO as a working holiday maker employer if you have not already.
4. Classify each role correctly under the award and check you are paying weekend and casual loadings.
5. Keep a copy of the Home Affairs hospitality exemption page on file in case a working holiday maker or their accountant asks about it.
6. For your best cooks, raise sponsorship by month 6, not in the final week of the visa.

Japan has working holiday arrangements with other countries too, which affects where cooks choose to go instead. See Canada, the UK Youth Mobility Scheme and New Zealand.

General information checked against official sources in September 2026, not legal, tax or immigration advice. Working holiday rules and exemptions change; confirm on the Home Affairs and ATO pages linked below before acting.