Australia · Work and Holiday visa ballot
Australia records first 2026-27 subclass 462 ballot selection for Vietnam
Australia's Department of Home Affairs recorded the first 2026-27 Work and Holiday visa ballot selection for Vietnam on 26 August. Selected registrants have 28 calendar days to apply, while valid unselected registrations remain in the pool until 30 April 2027.
Published . Updated .
Reported and checked by the QueueCheck news desk. Last checked August 27, 2026. How we verify information
Work and Holiday visa (subclass 462): the answer before you make plans
Home Affairs recorded Vietnam's first 2026-27 Work and Holiday visa ballot selection on 26 August. It is a selection to apply, not a visa grant. If your registration was selected, Home Affairs says it sent a Notification of selection by email and you have 28 calendar days to lodge a first subclass 462 visa application. If your ImmiAccount still says received, the registration has not been selected at this point, but it can remain in the pool for later selections until 30 April 2027 unless it is withdrawn or otherwise expires.
Visa applicants affected by this Australia update
Vietnamese passport holders who submitted a valid registration for the first 2026-27 Work and Holiday visa, subclass 462, ballot before the 25 June 2026 closing date.
The Australia visa update behind this page
- The Department of Home Affairs' ballot table now records Vietnam's Selection 1 date as 26/08/2026. Selection 2 and Selection 3 are still marked TBA.
- Vietnam's 2026-27 ballot registration period ran from 4 June to 25 June 2026. The ballot status is Closed, meaning new registrations cannot be submitted.
- A person randomly selected from a valid registration receives a Notification of selection by email and has 28 calendar days to lodge a first subclass 462 visa application.
- The individual deadline appears in the selection letter and on the ImmiAccount landing page. The cutoff is midnight Australian Eastern Standard Time on the 28th day.
- Vietnam's annual first subclass 462 visa grant cap remains 1,500. The ballot manages who may apply and does not increase the cap.
Australian Department of Home Affairs: Work and Holiday visa pre-application process details that affect applicants
The ballot is an automated random selection process. Home Affairs says the system does not use criteria to choose between valid registrations.
The 2026-27 ballot applies to first subclass 462 visa applicants from China, India and Vietnam. It does not apply to second or third Work and Holiday visa applications.
Home Affairs recorded first 2026-27 selections for China and India on 10 August 2026 and for Vietnam on 26 August 2026.
Vietnamese passport holders selected in the ballot must provide a valid 12-digit Vietnamese national identity card when they apply. The department says an old 9-digit card is not accepted for this process.
A selected registrant must apply from outside Australia for their first Work and Holiday visa.
Work and Holiday visa (subclass 462) questions, answered
I registered for Vietnam. Does a received status mean I was rejected?
No. Home Affairs says received means it has received the registration and it has not been randomly selected yet. Valid registrations can remain in the selection pool until 30 April 2027 unless they are selected, withdrawn or otherwise expire.
How will I know if I was selected?
Home Affairs says it immediately emails a Notification of selection to a selected registrant and changes the ImmiAccount status to selected. Check both the email account used for registration and the same ImmiAccount.
How long do I have to apply after selection?
You have 28 calendar days after Home Affairs notifies you. The exact deadline is in the Notification of selection letter and on the ImmiAccount landing page, with the cutoff at midnight AEST on the 28th day.
Does selection guarantee that Australia will grant my visa?
No. Selection gives you the opportunity to lodge a first subclass 462 application. Home Affairs says the selection letter does not guarantee eligibility to apply or that a visa will be granted.
Will there be another Vietnam selection?
It is possible, but no date has been announced. Home Affairs says it may make future random selections throughout the program year and will publish dates after they take place. The Vietnam table currently lists Selection 2 and Selection 3 as TBA.
What this Australia update changes for Work and Holiday visa (subclass 462)
This is the first recorded Vietnamese selection for the 2026-27 program year. It does not mean every person who registered has been invited.
Selected registrants face a short, individual application window. The official letter and ImmiAccount deadline control, not an estimate calculated from the selection-table date.
A registration still marked received has not been selected yet. Home Affairs says it may make future random selections throughout the program year until registrations expire on 30 April 2027.
Selection only permits a person to submit a visa application. Home Affairs still assesses whether the applicant meets the subclass 462 requirements and can refuse a visa application.
Work and Holiday visa (subclass 462) checks before changing your plans
- Sign in to the same ImmiAccount used for the ballot registration and check whether the status is received, selected or expired.
- Check the email address used for registration, including spam and filtered folders, for a Notification of selection.
- If selected, follow the individual deadline in the letter and on the ImmiAccount landing page. Do not rely only on the selection-table date.
- Gather the passport and national identity-card evidence required for the first subclass 462 application. The ID details on the registration and visa application must match.
- If the registration remains received, do not submit a new registration. Vietnam's registration period is closed, and Home Affairs says future selections can occur from the existing pool.
Read Australian Department of Home Affairs: Work and Holiday visa pre-application process by route, stage, and source date
The ballot is used because demand exceeds the number of first Work and Holiday visa places available to these partner countries. It is separate from the visa decision itself.
Closed does not mean the selection process has finished. On the official status table it means the registration period has closed and no new registrations can enter the ballot.
Home Affairs says it publishes future selection dates after they take place. It does not publish a forecast date for Vietnam's next selection.
The first Work and Holiday visa is subclass 462. Working Holiday visa subclass 417 has different arrangements and is not part of this ballot.
What this Work and Holiday visa (subclass 462) update cannot decide
- Home Affairs does not publish how many Vietnamese registrations were selected on 26 August or how many remain in the pool.
- The department does not provide a predicted date for a second or third Vietnamese selection. The table presently shows TBA.
- Home Affairs does not notify people who were not selected. A received status only states that the registration has not been selected at that time.
- This dated record explains the published ballot change. It cannot determine whether any individual will be selected, eligible to apply or granted a visa.
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Official citation
Published August 26, 2026. Original source: Australian Department of Home Affairs: Work and Holiday visa pre-application process.