Australia Lists Countries Whose Citizens Are Affected As It Pauses Work and Holiday Visas

• Australia's Department of Home Affairs suspended Subclass 462 Work and Holiday visa applications for citizens of two countries as annual grant caps fill up
• Brazil holds a cap of 500 visas per programme year under the scheme, while Mongolia's allocation stands at just 100
• The department confirmed paused caps could reopen within the same programme year, and urged affected applicants to monitor the official website

Australia's Department of Home Affairs has temporarily suspended Work and Holiday visa applications under the Subclass 462 programme for citizens of Brazil and Mongolia, citing high demand that is pushing both countries towards their annual grant limits.

The department's status of country caps page, last updated on 12 October 2026, confirmed the pause.

Brazil operates under an annual cap of 500 visas for the programme, while Mongolia's allocation is significantly smaller at 100.

Why applications have been paused

The department outlined two circumstances in which it may pause a country's application intake. The first is to distribute the volume of lodgements more evenly across the programme year, allowing processing to remain manageable. The second is to closely monitor numbers when a country's allocation is close to being exhausted.

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Officials drew a clear distinction between a paused cap and a closed one. A closed cap means no new applications will be accepted until the programme year restarts on 2 July.

A paused cap, by contrast, may reopen at any point during the current year, and the department has encouraged Brazilian and Mongolian applicants to check the official website frequently for status updates. It also noted that changes to cap statuses can take up to 48 hours to appear on the site after being made.

Citizens of both countries who attempt to submit an application while the pause remains active will receive an error message through the ImmiAccount portal.

What applicants should know about the programme

The Subclass 462 Work and Holiday programme covers 29 partner countries in total, the majority of which remain open for first visa applications. Indonesia is also undergoing a change to a ballot-based system, with registrations expected to open at a later point in 2026.

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Importantly, the annual grant caps apply exclusively to first Work and Holiday visas. No caps exist for second or third visas under the Subclass 462 programme, meaning those already in Australia who are partway through their stay on a subsequent visa are unaffected by the current suspension.

Australia lists 5 countries eligible for police recruitment

Earlier, YEN.com.gh reported that Australia had confirmed that citizens of five countries could apply to join the Queensland Police Force.

The Queensland Police Force named the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Canada, New Zealand and the Republic of Ireland as the countries whose citizens may submit applications.

Source: YEN.com.gh