Working holiday visa basics for van life in Australia

Your visa: the basics

The working holiday visa for UK passport holders is the Working Holiday (subclass 417) visa. A few things worth knowing, from the Department of Home Affairs (checked 31 October 2026):

• You can work in any occupation or industry, but generally for up to 6 months with one employer. There are exemptions, including for tourism and hospitality, agriculture and some other critical sectors, and you can ask permission to stay longer in some cases (6 month work limitation).
• Since 1 July 2024, UK passport holders can be granted a second and third Working Holiday visa without doing any specified work. Each visa is for 12 months, and UK applicants can apply up to the day before their 36th birthday (New arrangements for UK passport holders).
• Visa holders have the same workplace rights as everyone else in Australia, including minimum pay. The Fair Work Ombudsman gives free advice and says your visa won't be cancelled for contacting it (Fair Work Ombudsman).

Tax file number (TFN)

You'll need a TFN to work. It's your personal reference number in the Australian tax system. You give it to your employer on a TFN declaration when you start, and without one they have to take more tax from your pay.

What the ATO says

Working holiday makers with a valid 417 or 462 visa can apply online, for free, once they're in Australia. You don't need to send any documents. The ATO says you should get your TFN within 28 days, posted to the Australian postal address on your application, and that you shouldn't apply again during that time. If it hasn't arrived after 28 days, you can call the ATO on 13 28 61 with your application receipt ID (ATO: TFN application for temporary visitors, checked 31 October 2026).

What happened to us

We were given a tip to phone the ATO after applying online, and when we did, we got our TFNs over the phone there and then, with no waiting. That's our experience, not an official process. The ATO's pages describe a letter posted within 28 days, so don't count on getting yours instantly. If you're starting work quickly, tell your employer you've applied.

Never pay anyone to get a TFN for you. Applying is free.

Bank account

We bank with Commonwealth Bank (CommBank). That's simply who we chose and it's worked well for us. We're not saying it's the right bank for everyone, and other banks have their own processes for new arrivals.

Our experience

CommBank has a process for people arriving in Australia, and you set it up with your passport. When we landed, we popped into a local branch and it was simple. We've used their online banking, savings, Apple Pay, and cardless cash withdrawals at CommBank ATMs through the app, and it's never been a problem.

Here's a funny one: we never collected our debit cards, and we've never needed them. We had no home address, so they were sent to a branch in Perth. We forgot to pick them up, and between Apple Pay and cardless withdrawals, we've never missed them.

What CommBank says

From CommBank's own pages (checked 31 October 2026):

• You can open an account online up to 14 days before you arrive, or within 12 months after arriving, and you don't need an Australian address to set it up.
• Once you're in Australia, you need to visit a branch with your original current passport and your tax identification number for each country where you're a tax resident. If you don't do this within 20 days of opening the account, it may close automatically.
• If you open the account more than 7 days before you arrive, your card should be waiting at the branch you chose. If not, it's posted to your Australian address.

See CommBank: migrant banking and their moving to Australia checklist.

Medicare for UK citizens

Australia has a Reciprocal Health Care Agreement with the UK. We both enrolled in Medicare, and we'd say it's important to have.

What Services Australia says

From Services Australia: visiting from the United Kingdom (checked 31 October 2026):

• To be eligible, you must have been living in the UK before arriving in Australia.
• It covers medically necessary care out of hospital, medically necessary care as a public patient in a public hospital, and some prescription medicines under the PBS. It doesn't cover everything, so you still need travel or health insurance.
• Cover starts the day you arrive and ends when your visa expires.
• You can enrol online through myGov or with a Medicare enrolment form. You'll need your current visa, your passport, and evidence that you live in the UK.

Is a GHIC required?

No, but it's the easiest option. Services Australia accepts a UK Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) as proof that you're a UK resident. If you don't have one, you can show 2 dated documents proving you live in the UK instead, such as a rental agreement, a bank statement, a work contract or a utility bill.

That's where it can get complicated as a traveller. Without a home address or the right paperwork, those documents can be hard to get hold of. So our advice is:

• Get a GHIC before you leave the UK. It made enrolling in Medicare straightforward for us.
• Apply at home, because the card comes by post. If it arrives after you've left, a family member you trust can send you the details.

We can only speak for the UK process. If you're from another country, check whether it has an agreement with Australia on the Services Australia reciprocal health care page.

Tax returns

This isn't tax advice. We're not tax experts, and everyone's situation is different. Check the ATO's pages, or use a registered tax agent if you're unsure.

What we'd say from our own experience:

• Look up what you're entitled to claim, and complete a tax return each year if it applies to you.
• We lodge online through myGov, linked to the ATO and to our TFNs. The ATO explains how to create a myGov account and link it to the ATO.
• If you're not sure, use a registered tax agent. The ATO says only registered tax agents can charge a fee to prepare and lodge your return, and you can check someone is registered on the Tax Practitioners Board register (ATO: lodge with a registered tax agent).

Examples of what people can claim

The ATO lists work-related expenses that employees may be able to claim. These are examples only, and each one has conditions (checked 31 October 2026):

• Work clothing: protective clothing and footwear (like steel-capped boots, high-vis vests or sun-protective clothing), compulsory uniforms and occupation-specific clothing. Everyday clothes, even if you only wear them for work, generally don't count (ATO: clothing, laundry and dry-cleaning).
• Car expenses: for work-related trips, like travelling between workplaces. Normal trips between home and work usually don't count (ATO: work-related car expenses).
• Phone and data: only the work-related part, and you need records showing how you worked it out (ATO: mobile phone and internet).
• Tools and equipment you use for work.

For any claim, the ATO says you must have paid for it yourself and not been reimbursed, it must be directly related to earning your income, and you need a record to prove it, usually a receipt (ATO: claiming deductions). So keep your receipts, even on the road.

Superannuation

Your employer has to pay super (a bit like a workplace pension) on top of your wages. When you've left Australia and your visa has ended, you can apply for a Departing Australia Superannuation Payment (DASP). For working holiday makers, it's taxed at a high rate. See ATO: DASP.

A postal address when you live in a van

Your TFN letter, Medicare card, rego and any fines all need an address. The ATO, for example, posts your TFN to the Australian postal address on your application.

Here's what's worked for us, and what we've seen other travellers do:

• Hostels and accommodation providers. Lots of backpackers agree with a hostel or other accommodation provider to use its address. Ask first.
• Your van's seller. Ron's previous owner kindly let us use their address, which was a big help early on.
• Your employer. When we've been in temporary work accommodation, we've used our work address.

Whatever you use, make sure it's agreed with someone you trust, and that they're happy to pass things on.

Go paperless wherever you can. Choose online statements and email notices, so less comes by post and you can check your banking, rego and any fines from anywhere.

Phone and internet

We were told the two big networks are Telstra and Optus, and we've tried both. This is just our experience:

• Telstra was expensive for us.
• Optus gave us good coverage for less.
• Cheaper networks: we tried them, and for us the loss of coverage wasn't worth the saving.

Coverage changes a lot once you leave the cities, so check each network's coverage map for the places you're heading.

For unlimited data on the road, we haven't found a good alternative to Starlink. It's what we use to work and upload from the van. You can see it, and the rest of our setup, on our gear page.

For the apps we use for coverage, fuel and campsites, see our van life apps guide.

Finding work on the road

What surprised us most about the job market in Australia is how casual it is. You can be looking for work on a Friday and starting on the Monday, with no written agreement before you arrive, and then find amazing full-time work just like that.

Facebook groups

Search Facebook for "backpackers" and "work", and lots of different groups will pop up. We won't name them here, because they change. Some become more useful than others, and new ones appear every now and again.

Be proactive. Post in the groups that you're looking for work, with a little about you and your experience. This has worked really well for us, and it's got us some of our favourite jobs in Australia. It's also got us some of our worst.

• The good: you get messages from employers who haven't advertised yet.
• The not so good: you also get messages from employers who are struggling to recruit or have a high turnover of staff. We found that out the hard way with one of them.

We've also worked with some amazing people this way, so it's well worth doing. Just ask questions before you commit.

Backpacker Job Board

We also use Backpacker Job Board, and we've found a few jobs that way. It's a more professional set-up, where you might send a cover letter or CV, so have those ready.

Gumtree Jobs

We haven't used it ourselves, but friends of ours have found work through the jobs section on Gumtree.

Keep going

Looking for work can feel a bit defeating at times. Keep your eyes open, keep being proactive, and remember you have the same workplace rights as everyone else (see Your visa: the basics above).

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