The Temporary Activity visa (subclass 408) allows individuals to travel to Australia for specific types of work, purposes or events.
Sports persons, researchers, entertainers and religious workers may consider obtaining this visa.
What activities are included under a Temporary Activity visa?
The Temporary Activity visa (subclass 408) has several streams allowing different types of work:
- Australian government endorsed event
- Events are specified by the government, such as sporting events, state supported events, and global pandemic events (e.g. COVID-19)
- Special Program stream – to take part in:
- cultural enrichment or community benefit programs
- youth exchange programs
- school language assistance programs
- school-to-school interchange programs
- Religious work stream
- To work as a religious worker with a religious organisation for up to 2 years
- Research activities stream
- Invited participant for a social and cultural activity stream
- Sporting activities stream
- Entertainment activities stream
- Superyacht crew stream
- Exchange arrangements stream
- Domestic work for executives stream
- To work as a full-time domestic worker in certain senior foreign executives’ households for up to 2 years.
How do I apply for a Temporary Activity Visa?
To apply for the Temporary Activity visa, you would firstly need to determine what stream under which you would apply under as the requirements and eligibility criteria differ.
Sponsorship
Most streams require you to be sponsored by the inviting organisation, institution or agency. Requirements will vary, such as having to be a particular type of organisation or having a program in place, or an approval from the Department of Home Affairs as a Temporary Activities Sponsor.
Qualifications and/or experience
You may need to show that you have the relevant qualifications and/or experience to work for the purpose of your stay in Australia. For example, if you are working as a religious worker or as an entertainer, you will need you show you have relevant experience doing such work.
Financial means to support yourself while in Australia
Some streams will require that you have enough funds or will have an income to support yourself and any dependents that you bring with you to Australia.
What is the processing time for a Temporary Activity visa?
The processing time for the many streams of the Temporary Activity visa was not available at the time of writing. Information on current processing times can be found here.
The Department of Home Affairs has listed the following timelines for streams:
- Entertainment Activities (commonly known as entertainment visa): approximately 35-50 days
- Research Activities: 73-77 days
