Can you include the days off in your 88 days specified work?

CM24

I've done a lot of searching around the boards but I can't get a definite answer to this. Some people say that as long as you are staying at a working hostel in a Regional Area that every day you are there is included in the 88 days.

Others say that this is only the case if you stay in the one place for the whole 3 months.

I started my Regional work on 20/8/14 . I did 17 days work here but then my job finished.

Then I had to move to another area where I did 14 days. I left that job because the pay was awful.

So then I moved to my current hostel where I worked for the same farmer from 8th Oct to 21st Nov. In this place I worked random days and hours. Some were 7 days weeks while others were only 4. Some days were 12 hours while others were only 3. On the wage slip it only says the entire amount of hours worked for the week. Doesn't mention how many days were worked.

Is there a minimum amount of hours needed for the days to be counted?

Can I just write down that I worked 7 days a week between those dates? If that's the case I should only have 4 more days to do. Im starting work for a new farmer tomorrow.

I'll be coming home for X-Mas and applying for my second year visa from home. There's a good chance they will check to see I've completed my 88 days.
How in-depth is the investigation? I have lots of evidence to prove that I was at the places I worked.

Do they make phone calls to your employers and stuff like that? I've spent well over 100 days on the different farms but didn't keep track of the exact amount of days I worked. I'd hate if they somehow stung me for being a few days short.

If anyone here has been investigated can you just tell me about it. I shouldn't have anything to worry about but I'm still nervous. Some of my pay slips came in at random dates and this might look suspicious.

Tsipras

As long as you have the proper ABN numbers you'll be grand and you'll get the visa in less than 24 hours, i think there's a very small chance of getting investigated.. days off don't count though no

Mellor

Tsipras wrote: »

As long as you have the proper ABN numbers you'll be grand and you'll get the visa in less than 24 hours, i think there's a very small chance of getting investigated.. days off don't count though no

Yes they do, if you are working full time.

OP,
If you are working full time, then a week counts as 7 days. No matter if your work 4/5/6/7 days, as long as that's a standard working week for the job.
Even if you were working shift work. 2 weeks on, 1 week off. That would count as 3 week work if its normal for the position.

I started my Regional work on 20/8/14 . I did 17 days work here but then my job finished.

Then I had to move to another area where I did 14 days. I left that job because the pay was awful.

If each of these blocks was full time for 3 weeks or so then they can be counted as 21 days each. It sounds like they were based on the dates you've given.
You can't count the days between jobs.

So then I moved to my current hostel where I worked for the same farmer from 8th Oct to 21st Nov.

If this was full time work, including the first and last weeks, then it's 7 weeks, 49 days.

So that's counted as 91 regional days. As long as you were full time.

Staying at a working hostel, working in the one job etc is irrelevant to how the days are counted.

I've spent well over 100 days on the different farms

You haven't. 20th August was <100 days ago. Be sure of your dates when you lodge them, as changing them afterwards if questioned looks bad, even if the change is technically correct.

Misty Chaos

Some people say that as long as you are staying at a working hostel in a Regional Area that every day you are there is included in the 88 days.

No, that's a big fat lie. A working hostel will help you find the work to get your 88 days but merely staying there will not count towards your 88 days unless you've got a very generous owner who is willing to risk legal trouble.

I started my Regional work on 20/8/14 . I did 17 days work here but then my job finished.

Then I had to move to another area where I did 14 days. I left that job because the pay was awful.

Are those actual days worked or are you including weekends? As far as I know, if you go between multiple farms then you can only count the actual days you've worked, not days off / weekends. I wouldn't be that well versed in this but this is my understanding of it. You might be best ringing immigration and asking if your not sure.

Also, did you get sign off sheets from your respective farmers when you left them? How many days did they put down? This will be important. If necessary, ring up the farmers / working hostels yourself and ask.

braddun

How to calculate specified work
'Three months' means three 'calendar' months or 88 days. Work can be either:
•in one block with one business
•in separate blocks with one business or a number of businesses. Blocks of work may be in different kinds of specified work.

One full day of work is defined as having worked the minimum number of hours considered to be a standard day by the particular industry in which the applicant is employed. Generally, the Australian working week is 35 to 40 hours, consisting of seven to eight hours of work each day. Individual employers can not set a smaller period of time than the industry standard to satisfy the specified work requirement.

In calculating the period of time for which the applicant has undertaken specified work, the type of employment relationship the applicant may have with their employer, including full/part time employment, casual employment or voluntary employment, is not as important as whether the relevant industry considers the period of work completed to be equivalent to full time work for that industry. For example, if the applicant's paid employment involved two weeks on and then two weeks off, and this is standard practice in the industry, the applicant would be considered to have worked for four weeks (28 days). If the employer is satisfied that the applicant has undertaken the equivalent of full time work for that industry for the specified period, the visa decision maker may be satisfied that the applicant has undertaken full time work for the specified period.

Applicants whose work is equivalent to full time employment may count weekends in the 88 day period. However, if the applicant's work is not equivalent to full time employment, for example, part time or casual, they may only count the full days actually worked.

In circumstances where the applicant is employed by more than one employer at the same time, they may only count each calendar day of work completed once towards their 88 day specified work requirement.

The shortest period that may be counted towards the specified work requirement is one day of full time work (for that industry). Applicants cannot count a long day of work as more than one day of specified work. For example, if the industry's standard day is six hours long, working a 12 hour day does not count as two days of specified work.

Full time workers can count sick days only during periods where they were in paid employment and entitled to sick leave or covered by a workers compensation scheme. In these situations, supporting evidence must be provided by the employer.

Applicants who were prevented from obtaining employment because of injury or seasonal circumstances cannot count any time they were unable to work towards the three month period. For example, cyclones interrupting harvest activities.

Some possible examples to help clarify the definition of three months of specified work are outlined below.

Examples that meet the three month requirement
•Working week
Working on a farm for three months for five days each week, where the industry standard is five days a week of full time work.
•Shift work
Employed as a miner for three months and under the employment contract are only required to work every second week, which is the standard full time contract for the industry.
•Blocks of work
Completing 60 days of harvest work, followed by a period of travel for two months. Then completing another 28 days in construction, bringing the total days worked to 88 days.
•Sick days
Employed for a three month period but take several days of sick leave during the period.

Examples that do not meet the three month requirement
•Working week
When five days of work a week is the industry standard on a farm, but the applicant only works four days a week for three months.
•Work done on another visa type
Completing three months of specified work during the summer break while on a Student visa.
•Seasonal circumstances
Picking bananas for 80 days on a casual basis, but the applicant cannot find more work as there is a cyclone and their first Working Holiday visa ceases.

Evidence of specified work
•If the Working Holiday visa holder applies for a second Working Holiday visa, they will need to provide evidence that they have satisfied the specified work eligibility requirement. Acceptable evidence of specified work (completed while on their first Working Holiday visa) includes original or certified copies of the following:
•payslips
•group certificates
•payment summaries
•tax returns
•employer references
•a completed employment verification form signed by the applicants employer
•original Australian bank statement covering the period of declared specified work, undefined document entitled: 'Form 1263'Form 1263 (Working Holiday visa: Employment verification (75 kB PDF file)

Note: Providing a completed Form 1263 and additional forms of evidence will allow a Working Holiday visa application to be assessed more quickly. Please ensure that all information provided is correct. Contacting third parties to verify the claims of applicants for second Working Holiday visas will now be a standard component of second Working Holiday visa application assessments.

If the applicant chooses to undertake specified work in a voluntary capacity or for payment in kind, it may be difficult to verify they have completed the required specified work. If we are not satisfied that they have completed three months specified work in regional Australia, their second Working Holiday visa may not be granted. To enable a successful visa application, it is preferable that wages are paid directly into an Australian bank account and that an original bank statement is provided as evidence.

CM24

Ok guys thanks a lot for the replies. To be honest though, I'm still confused. Mellor said what I wanted to hear. Then Misty said the opposite. I have been a full time employee of the three farmers iv worked for, so I thought that meant weekends would be counted.

In any case, my wage slips only show the hours actually worked. So they can't really prove that I didn't work 7 days a week. Granted, there was a few weeks where I only worked 25 hours or so. This wasn't my fault though. There just wasn't enough fruit to be picked on certain days so they sent us home early.

I'll ring immigration tomorrow and see what they say.

Mellor

CM24 wrote: »

Ok guys thanks a lot for the replies. To be honest though, I'm still confused. Mellor said what I wanted to hear. Then Misty said the opposite. I have been a full time employee of the three farmers iv worked for, so I thought that meant weekends would be counted.

Musty was incorrect, when she said weekends don't count if it's multiple employers. The poster above copy and pasted the rules and conditions from immi. The part below covers counting days off, and correlates with what I said.

Applicants whose work is equivalent to full time employment may count weekends in the 88 day period...

It goes on to cover weeks on/off, shift work etc. Days off are counted if it's full time and a standard week.

CM24

Thanks again Mellor. Now it's just this part that's confusing me.

''One full day of work is defined as having worked the minimum number of hours considered to be a standard day by the particular industry in which the applicant is employed. Generally, the Australian working week is 35 to 40 hours, consisting of seven to eight hours of work each day. Individual employers can not set a smaller period of time than the industry standard to satisfy the specified work requirement. ''

What is the industry standard in farming? My hours were very random. Some days were 12 hours, others were only 4. So certain weeks I did a lot less than 35 hours. Will this be a problem when they look at my pay slips? I'm gonna ring them now and ask.

EDIT: Just called. 31 people ahead of me in the queue. Will try again later

Mellor

CM24 wrote: »

What is the industry standard in farming? My hours were very random. Some days were 12 hours, others were only 4. So certain weeks I did a lot less than 35 hours. Will this be a problem when they look at my pay slips? I'm gonna ring them now and ask.

In my experience/opinion, this simply means a full day needs to be the same as other workers (who aren't relying on the work for a WHV).
Certain industries, especially those at the mercy of the weather, there is no standard. For exemple, if you were in construction, and were rained off all week. Thats still a full week.

minzabud

My understanding is that it's 12 weeks with one employer or 88 days worked with different employers, I had 3 separate jobs during mine so took over 4 months to get to 88 days.

My visa was granted within 24hrs over a weekend so I doubt it was checked, however when i leave the country and come back in, il be sure to have my ducks in a row.

CM24

minzabud wrote: »

My understanding is that it's 12 weeks with one employer or 88 days worked with different employers, I had 3 separate jobs during mine so took over 4 months to get to 88 days.

I've heard that as well, but only through word of mouth.

I couldn't get through to immigration. E-mailed them but got an autoresponse. Apparently they only answer individual queries if your visa application is already being processed.

Rang them at several different times but there was always about 30 people ahead of me in the queue. After waiting about 3 minutes I moved up to 29... Gave up then.

I have fairly important business to attend to at home so I have to leave before I officially complete 88 full work days anyway. I reckon I'll be fine as I have my weekly payments to prove I worked for over 12 weeks. Wasn't quite 7 days a week but they have no way to prove that.

minzabud

Chances are you will be fine, made no odds to me as I did mine at the start of my visa and stayed on for seven months, whatever evidence you have just hold onto it if your stopped on your way back in.

bestleftfull3

Is it true that once you leave the state you are living in and work in another state this can be counted as your 88 days in queensland for example ?

A guy tried telling me this the other day but i wasnt too sure

Mellor

bestleftfull3 wrote: »

Is it true that once you leave the state you are living in and work in another state this can be counted as your 88 days in queensland for example ?

A guy tried telling me this the other day but i wasnt too sure

No. Not if the other area isn't a regional area.

mandrake04

bestleftfull3 wrote: »

Is it true that once you leave the state you are living in and work in another state this can be counted as your 88 days in queensland for example ?

A guy tried telling me this the other day but i wasnt too sure

Regional work has to be

a) in correct postcode
b) a specified type of work