A student visa for Australia or New Zealand allows full time degree students (undergraduate and postgraduate) to work part time during the academic year, and full time over the summer holidays, provided their course meets Immigration requirements.

Please note that your right to work on a student visa does not start until you have formally enrolled on your course.

All Australian and New Zealand universities have a Student Job Search service, to help students find part-time work during term time and the summer holidays. If you need to get part-time work, make sure you join or access this as soon as possible and check the job boards regularly, as new offers from employers come in all the time.

If you’ve already got experience in a particular area – whether it’s serving behind a bar, office work or waiting tables in restaurants – it’s a good idea to get yourself prepared before you leave, so that you can make sure you hit the ground running in your search for work. Take an up-to-date CV, and references from previous employers if possible.

While most of the students we work with at Study Options do choose to use their work entitlement to some extent, please remember there is no guarantee of finding part-time work, and definitely no way of knowing how long it might take you to get what you want. It’s important to budget with this in mind – don’t assume you’ll be able to step off the plane straight into a high-paying part time job – have a backup plan!