International Student Work Rights: What You Can and Can't Do

Short answer, with the date the rules were checked

If you hold a Student visa (subclass 500), you can usually work up to 48 hours per fortnight once your course has started, and you can work unlimited hours when your course is not in session. This page was checked against the Department of Home Affairs Student visa page on 10 October 2026. The exact conditions attached to your visa are the ones that apply to you, so always confirm them in VEVO or your visa grant letter.

This is general information, not migration advice. Work out your own situation before you accept shifts or sign an internship offer.

Checking your visa work conditions before accepting shifts is the first step. Source: Michael Surran / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0.

Who this applies to

This applies to you if you are:

• An international student in Australia on a Student visa (subclass 500), including packaged courses and postgraduate study.
• About to start a course and wondering when you can begin work.
• Considering an internship, a paid part-time job, gig work, or a volunteer role and unsure whether it counts towards your work limit.
• A recent graduate on a Student visa waiting on a 485 or another visa outcome.

It does not cover Working Holiday visas, temporary skilled work visas, or permanent residents. Those have different conditions.

The current rules, cited to the primary government source

Work conditions live on your visa, not on a general rule of thumb. The Department of Home Affairs sets the standard conditions for the Student visa (subclass 500).

Rule	What it means in practice	Source
48 hours per fortnight cap	Applies while your course is in session. A fortnight is any 14 day period, not a calendar month.	Home Affairs, Student visa 500
Unlimited hours when course is not in session	Applies during scheduled course breaks, not to the whole holiday period if you have supplementary exams or a placement.	Home Affairs, Student visa 500
Work cannot start before your course begins	You must be enrolled and your course must have commenced.	Home Affairs, Student visa 500
You must maintain enrolment and attendance	Working more than allowed can breach your visa conditions.	Home Affairs, Student visa 500
Unpaid work still counts in some cases	Unpaid work that would otherwise be paid can count towards your cap. Check the Fair Work Ombudsman guidance on unpaid work.	Fair Work Ombudsman
Minimum pay and conditions still apply	Even on a student visa you are covered by the Fair Work Act and your award.	Fair Work Ombudsman

Source: Department of Home Affairs Student visa 500 page and Fair Work Ombudsman unpaid work guidance, checked 10 October 2026.

Two things people get wrong. First, the cap is per fortnight, not per week, so a 30-hour week followed by a 18 hour week is still within the cap. Second, the cap resets every fortnight, so you cannot bank hours.

What employers actually ask for

Most employers hiring students ask three things:

1. Proof of your right to work. Usually a passport and visa grant notice, or a VEVO check.
2. Your availability. If you say 20 hours a week, they will roster you for 20 hours a week, and that can push you over the cap during session.
3. Whether you can commit to a set roster for a semester. Internships often ask for two or three days a week for 12 weeks.

For internships specifically, employers usually want to know whether the role is paid or unpaid, whether it counts as course credit, and whether it is a vocational placement. A vocational placement that is a required part of your course is treated differently from general unpaid work. The Fair Work Ombudsman explains the difference on its unpaid work page.

If you are weighing up whether an internship is worth your hours, our guide to what an eligible internship actually means breaks down the eligibility tests employers use.

Step by step: how to check your own situation

1. Open VEVO or your visa grant letter and read the work condition wording. It will say something like 8104 or 8105. The condition number matters more than any blog post, including this one.
2. Work out whether your course is in session. Check your university's academic calendar, not the public holiday calendar.
3. Count your hours over a rolling 14 day window, not a Monday to Sunday week.
4. Check whether any unpaid role is a vocational placement or general unpaid work. If you are not sure, ask your university placements office in writing.
5. If you are doing gig work, count the hours you are logged in and available, not just the hours you are paid for. Home Affairs treats work broadly.
6. If you are close to graduating, check whether you have applied for a 485 and what work rights that gives you. Do not assume they carry over automatically.
7. If anything is unclear, get advice from a registered migration agent or your university's international student support service. Do not rely on a group chat.

If you want to see how this fits into a longer plan, our step by step guide to getting an internship in Australia covers the sequence from eligibility check to offer.

What to do if you do not have experience yet

Not having experience is normal. The work rights question is separate from the experience question, and you can build experience without breaching your cap.

• Use university clubs and society projects. They are usually unpaid, low hours, and give you something concrete to talk about. Our guide to turning a club project into real experience shows how to frame it.
• Look for course credit internships. These are often structured around your timetable and are more likely to fit inside your cap.
• Target employers who already hire international students. Their careers pages usually state their work rights policy. Check the employer's own page, not a job board summary.
• Keep a simple log of hours and roles. When you apply for a graduate role, you can show exactly what you did and that you stayed compliant.

Stride is a career navigation platform that filters internships, clubs and opportunities by genuine eligibility, including visa and work rights, so you spend less time on roles you cannot take. It does not guarantee an interview, a job or a visa outcome. It just narrows the list.

Mistakes to avoid

• Assuming the cap is 24 hours a week. It is 48 hours per fortnight, and the fortnight matters.
• Working unlimited hours during a break when you actually have a supplementary exam or a placement block.
• Taking an unpaid internship that is not a vocational placement and not counting it towards your cap.
• Relying on a friend's visa condition. Conditions can differ between students.
• Forgetting that your visa can be cancelled for breaching work conditions, which then affects future visa applications.
• Signing an internship contract without checking whether it is paid, credit bearing, or a placement.

FAQ

Can I work unlimited hours during semester breaks? Usually yes, if your course is genuinely not in session. Check your university calendar and your visa condition wording. If you have supplementary exams or a placement, the break may not count.

Does an unpaid internship count towards my 48 hour cap? It can. Unpaid work that would otherwise be paid generally counts. A vocational placement that is a required part of your course is treated differently. Check the Fair Work Ombudsman guidance and ask your placements office.

Can I start work before my course begins? No. You generally cannot work until your course has commenced. Check your visa grant letter for the exact wording.

What happens if I work more than 48 hours in a fortnight? You would be breaching a visa condition. That can lead to visa cancellation and affect future applications. If you have already done it, get advice from a registered migration agent or your university support service.

Do I need to tell my employer about my visa conditions?
You do not have to volunteer the details, but you do need to give them accurate availability. If they roster you beyond your cap, that is your problem to manage, not theirs.

Sources and last reviewed

• Department of Home Affairs, Student visa (subclass 500): https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-listing/student-500
• Fair Work Ombudsman, unpaid work: https://www.fairwork.gov.au/starting-employment/unpaid-work
• Fair Work Ombudsman, minimum wages and conditions: https://www.fairwork.gov.au/
• Department of Home Affairs, Skills in Demand (subclass 482): https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/Visa-subsite/Pages/work/skills-in-demand-482-landing.aspx

Last reviewed: 10 October 2026. This is general information, not migration advice. For advice about your own visa, speak to a registered migration agent or your university's international student support service.