To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions her Department has had with counterparts in the Australian Government on a date for forthcoming changes to the Australian working holiday visa for UK nationals.

The UK and Australia signed a side letter on mobility in December 2021 alongside the UK-Australia Free Trade Agreement (FTA), setting out commitments on their respective Youth Mobility Scheme (YMS) and Working Holiday Maker (WHM) programmes. The UK and Australia will make changes to these schemes so that they are available to people aged 18 to 35 years inclusive and for a total stay of up to 2 years, with the option to extend for a further year. Australia will also remove the requirement for UK nationals on their programme to undertake specific types of work. The arrangement states that the UK and Australia will implement these changes within two years of entry into force of the FTA.

We are currently working with the Australian Government on the next steps required to implement these commitments made to extend the provisions of the YMS and WHM.