Best Guide for your Working Holiday Visa Extension in Australia [2nd Year, see my payslips! Part 5/5]

What is the “piece rate”?

The so-called “piece rate” is a contract in which you are paid according to your speed and amount you picked, therefore usually applied when doing farm work with fruits and vegetables. In this case, you do not receive a fixed wage, not even minimum wage (if you are too slow). 

Moreover, your employer and you must specify each day individually on paper, so that you can count it for your 88 days and your exact payment (see pic above for counting).

Calculating Days and Hours (Including “Piece Rate”): Best case scenario

The goal is to complete the same number of normal work days or shifts as a full-time employee in that role and industry over a three-month period (88 calendar days). Full-time means between 35h-40h per week. You can achieve this in several ways:

• • Work five days a week 8h shifts continuously for three calendar months. This applies even if you’re on a “piece rate” agreement, as long as you meet the required number of days per week. So in total you work even less than 88 days (5 times per week for 3 months ~ 5 days per week ~ 20 days per month ~ 60 days in three months). BUT this is just theoretical because most likely there will be holidays, you will eventually be sick, it will be raining etc. This is already the best case scenario!
  • Work fewer than five days per week over a period exceeding three calendar months, including under a “piece rate” agreement.
  • Work multiple short periods in any combination of full-time, part-time, or “piece rate” work, adding up to five days per week over three calendar months

Flexibility in Working Days and Employers

• You’re not obligated to complete your three months of “specified work” all at once or with a single employer. Change the employer as you want!
• Feel free to spread the work over your stay in Australia, and you can even work more than the minimum three months. This is even obligatory for the third working holiday visa (179 days)
• However, only work completed during your first Working Holiday Visa counts toward eligibility for the second visa.

Counting Days for Full-Time/Casual/Piece Rate Jobs

• If you work full-time or equivalent hours in another employment relationship, including casual or piece rate work, and work at least five days a week, you can count your two days off per week toward the five-day requirement. The five-day requirement = counted for 7 days worked. Miss 5 days and you count it as it is!
• Keep in mind the industry’s standard practices when applying this rule. For instance, if you work in mining with a two-week work, two-week break cycle, you can count the entire two-week break toward your 88 days.

Real Life Examples

1. Personal example: Me (Eduard) works full-time (we worked 8-10h daily unless it was raining) on a piece rate agreement, which is always on a casual basis. We just look here week by week (or even day by day) because as you learned before, we have the flexibility to choose our employer on a daily basis. On farm work you typically work EVERYDAY for the same employer so you can’t always apply the best scenario, which is working 5 days and counting 7 days, because you work 7 days anyway. If You work 5 days while doing farm work, than YES you can count the best case scenario which is counting 7 for just 5 days of working. Let‘s count: We count here 4 days in total for this week (3/12 it’s just what they forget to pay and added in this payslip, but the 3/12 still counts as a day, BUT not for this payslip in this counting week). I hope it makes sense! 30/12 is just a bonus added from the employer.
2. Example 2: Maria works full-time for three months without interruption and completes 88 calendar days, meeting the required number of days.
3. Example 3: Sophia works two days a week for three months but falls short of the required hours, thus not meeting the requirement to extend the visa. She will need around 44 weeks or 10 months to reach 88 days to qualify for the second working holiday visa if she holds this pace, which is also fine but difficult to realize!
4. Example 4: Margarite works irregular hours as a casual employee, averaging 20 hours per week, and does not meet the required number of days after three months. 20 hours would be three days per week, that means Margarite will need. She will need much more time too!

Understanding these calculations and scenarios is essential for ensuring your eligibility for the working holiday visa extension.