24 April 2009

Win an Australian working holiday with Tourism Australia

An Australian working holiday promotion from Tourism Australia will see six lucky winners of a competition working in and travelling Australia on Tourism Australia's account.

The Australian working holiday competition will give contestants the chance to win a flight to Australia, plus a one-month job placement in one of six jobs scattered around the country, including an idyllic job on a boat in the Whitsundays earning an impressive $700 per week, with meals and accommodation included.

The Australian working holiday visa program allows young travellers aged 18 -30 years from participating countries to work and travel in Australia for up to 12 months, with the opportunity of extending that visa by 12 months if they work in the horticultural or construction industries in specified regions of Australia for a minimum of three months.

While winning the competition would not secure an Australian working holiday visa  for the participant, it is hoped that the promotion would further flare the red hot interest seen in the Australian working holiday program so far this year. 

"This is a fantastic competition and really showcases the range of jobs in Australia as well as promoting the benefits of the Australia Working Holiday Visa," Tourism Australia general manager UK/Europe, Rodney Harrex told the Irish newspaper The Mayo Advertiser.

"The current economic environment has seen many more young people escaping Ireland for a real Australian adventure. Many are backpacking and fruit picking in regional areas to give them the ability to live the Aussie lifestyle for up to two years."

Amanda Gripske from the Australian Visa Bureau said that despite the financial conditions in the UK this year, a phenomenal amount of British and Irish nationals are going on an Australian working holiday, and with a competition such as this in the works, it is expected that the trend will pick up speed.

"This is a really exciting competition for Australian working holidaymakers – it's not every day that your flights to Australia are taken care of, and a well-paying and exciting job waiting for them at the other end is like the cream on the pie."

Participants can apply for a job in Sydney, the Red Centre, the Whitsundays, Perth, South Australia, and Melbourne.  Each job is completely different, ranging from a receptionist/bar staff position at the Base Backpackers in Melbourne to becoming trained as a dive-guide and deckhand for a Swim with the Wild Dolphins boat in Perth.

According to the newspaper, 52 per cent more young Irish travellers have been granted an Australian working holiday visa over the past six months when compared with the same six months the year before (almost 13,000 Australian working holiday visas were granted between July and December 2008 while the same period in 2007 saw only 8,417 working holiday visa grants).

If you are interested in going on an Australia working holiday , take the Australian Visa Bureau online assessment to see if you are eligible, and a trained consultant at the Australian Visa Bureau will be able to help you make your application for an Australian working holiday visa.

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The Australian Visa Bureau is an independent consulting company specialising in helping people with their Australia working holiday visa applications.