BREAKING NEWS! Second and Third Working Holiday Visas for volunteers in Bushfire Disaster areas.
Following Blaze Aid and WWOOF Australia making representations to Government, on the 17th of February the Federal Government announced an initiative allowing volunteers in Bushfire Disaster areas to qualify for second and third Working Holiday visas.
WWOOF has developed a Volunteer Bushfire Relief Form in consultation with Border Force, for WWOOFers to use for their visa extension application, as confirmation of the volunteer work they have done. Border Force have approved regular WWOOFing hours of 4 to 6 hours a day, maximum of 38 hours in any 7 days for this purpose. Hosts need to fill his form in to confirm the type of help they have had and the dates the WWOOFer has stayed with them. Hosts must keep a copy of this form with their completed Guestbook page for each of these WWOOFers.
The main criteria for this volunteer work is that it has something to do with bushfire recovery, this can include all aspects of getting your farm back on track. There are links at the bottom of the WWOOF volunteer form to Border force website and more information
Border force have also added extra types of construction work that will qualify as specified work:
Specified work in disaster affected areas
Construction work can be vital in helping regional disaster zones, such as those affected by flood or bushfire, to rebuild and recover from disaster. Working Holiday visa holders who conduct construction work in eligible regional areas of Australia following disasters can count the work as specified work.
Examples of construction work that qualify as specified work include:
• demolition of buildings, trench digging, land clearing and earth moving
• residential and non-residential construction or renovation/repair, including of roads, footpaths, bridges, parking lots, fencing, railways, dams, irrigation systems, sewage and storm water drainage systems.
Bushfire recovery work means work undertaken, including work undertaken on a volunteer basis, to assist with bushfire recovery efforts in an area mentioned including:
(a) construction, farming, or any other work in association with recovery or restitution of land, property, farm animals or wildlife; and (b) providing support services or assistance to people living, working or volunteering in the affected areas.
The following postcodes apply:
1 NSW 2311 to 2312; 2328 to 2411; 2420 to 2490; 2536 to 2551; 2575 to 2594; 2618 to 2739; 2787 to 2898.
2 VIC 3139; 3211 to 3334; 3340 to 3424; 3430 to 3649; 3658 to 3749; 3753; 3756; 3758; 3762; 3764; 3778 to 3781; 3783; 3797; 3799; 3810 to 3909; 3921 to 3925; 3945 to 3974; 3979; 3981 to 3996.
3 QLD 4124 to 4125; 4133; 4211; 4270 to 4272; 4275; 4280; 4285; 4287; 4307 to 4499; 4510; 4512; 4515 to 4519; 4522 to 4899.
4 WA 6041 to 6044; 6055 to 6056; 6069; 6076; 6083 to 6084; 6111; 6121 to 6126; 6200 to 6799.
5 SA All postcodes
6 TAS All postcodes
7 NT All postcodes
8 Norfolk Island All postcodes
New South Wales
Armidale, Ballina, Bega Valley, Bellingen, Blue Mountains, Byron, Central Coast, Cessnock, Clarence Valley, Coffs Harbour, Cootamundra-Gundagai, Eurobodalla, Glen Innes Severn, Goulburn Mulwaree, Gwydir, Greater Hume, Hawkesbury, Inverell, Kempsey, Ku-ring-gai, Kyogle, Lake Macquarie, Lismore, Lithgow, Mid Coast, Mid-Western, Muswellbrook, Nambucca, Narrabri, Oberon, Penrith, Port Macquarie-Hastings, Queanbeyan-Palerang, Richmond Valley, Shoalhaven, Singleton, Snowy Monaro, Snowy Valleys, Sutherland, Tamworth, Tenterfield, Tweed, Upper Hunter, Upper Lachlan, Uralla, Walcha, Wagga Wagga, Wingecarribee, Wollondilly
Victoria
Alpine, Ararat, Ballarat, East Gippsland, Falls Creek, Glenelg, Golden Plains, Greater Bendigo, Indigo, Mansfield, Mount Buller, Mount Hotham, Mount Stirling, Moyne, Northern Grampians, Pyrenees, Southern Grampians, Strathbogie, Towong, Wangaratta, Wellington, Wodonga
Queensland
Bundaberg, Gladstone, Gold Coast, Gympie, Ipswich, Livingstone, Lockyer Vallev, Noosa, Redland, Scenic Rim, Somerset, Southern Downs, Sunshine Coast, Toowoomba
South Australia
Adelaide Hills, Coorong, , Kangaroo Island, Kingston, Lower Eyre Peninsula, Mid Murray, Mount Barker, Murray Bridge, Playford, Southern Mallee and Yorke Peninsula
Tasmania
Break O’Day, Central Highlands and Southern Midlands
Australia Capital Territory
All areas.
Here is a copy of the Media Release:
