To get a first Work and Holiday (subclass 462) visa from China, India, or Vietnam in 2026-27, you have to win a ballot first. You register once via ImmiAccount between 4 June and 25 June 2026 and pay a non-refundable AUD $25. A random draw then decides who gets invited to apply.
Registration window: Thursday 4 June 2026 to Thursday 25 June 2026, via ImmiAccount.
Fee: AUD $25 per registration, non-refundable in all circumstances. One registration per applicant per round.
Invitation validity: 28 calendar days from the date of the Notification of Selection email. You apply from outside Australia.
2026-27 caps for first 462s: China 5,000, India 1,000, Vietnam 1,500.
The $25 fee and the visa application charge are separate. The 462 visa application charge (AUD $840) is paid only if you are selected and apply. The price goes up on 1 July each year.
The ballot is only the gate. Selection gives you the right to apply. The Department still assesses age, English, education, funds, health, character, and no-dependent-children when you apply.
If you hold a Chinese, Indian, or Vietnamese passport and you have been hoping to spend a year working and travelling in Australia, the next few weeks decide whether 2026-27 is your year. Registration for the Department of Home Affairs Work and Holiday (subclass 462) ballot opens on Thursday 4 June 2026 and closes on Thursday 25 June 2026. You get one shot. You pay AUD $25. A random draw later decides whether you get an invitation to apply.
That is a lot of weight on a three-week window, and it is meant to be. The old system filled first 462 places in minutes. It locked out anyone who could not get their documents and ImmiAccount session ready fast enough on the morning the cap opened. The ballot is fairer. It is also more impersonal, and easier to misunderstand. This guide walks through how the 2026-27 ballot works, what the AUD $25 buys you, what the 28-day invitation window really means, and what is worth doing in the next few days before registration opens.
What is the 2026-27 462 ballot?
The 462 ballot is a draw you enter before you apply. It is for people seeking their first Work and Holiday visa from China (mainland PRC passport holders), India, and Vietnam. You register between 4 June and 25 June 2026. After that, the Department picks people at random, in rounds, across the program year (1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027). The ballot exists because far more people want these three caps than there are places. The old system was first-come-first-served, which turned the cap opening into a race that rewarded internet speed over eligibility.
The ballot started on 1 October 2024. It is now the only way to get a first 462 from these three countries. Registering is not the same as applying. You are buying the right to be considered. If you are selected, you then submit a full 462 application through ImmiAccount and pay the visa application charge separately.
Registration buys the right to apply. It does not buy a visa. Demand far exceeds supply, and the Department does not publish registration counts in advance.
2026-27 462 ballot at a glance
Who can register for the 462 ballot?
To register, you must:
hold a passport from China (mainland PRC), India, or Vietnam
be aged 18 to 30 inclusive
not have held a 417 or 462 visa before
not be applying with dependent children
Confirm all four before you pay the AUD $25. The fee does not come back if you later turn out to be ineligible.
You only have to prove the full 462 criteria later, at the application stage, and only if you are selected. Those criteria are functional English, post-secondary education, around AUD $5,000 in funds plus a return ticket, health, and character. Still, be confident you can meet them before you register. A Notification of Selection is useless if you cannot put a complete application together in 28 days.
China (mainland PRC passport)
Education: A tertiary qualification (degree, graduate certificate, diploma) or at least two years of completed undergraduate university study.
English: Functional English, typically demonstrated by IELTS Academic or General Training with an average band of 4.5, or an equivalent score in PTE, TOEFL iBT, or Cambridge. The test must be no more than 12 months old when you apply.
Funds: About AUD $5,000 plus a return airfare (or evidence of funds to buy one).
India
Education: At least two years of completed post-secondary study (degree, diploma, or equivalent).
English: Functional English, same IELTS 4.5 threshold or equivalent.
Funds: About AUD $5,000 plus a return airfare.
Vietnam
Education: A tertiary qualification, or two years of completed undergraduate study.
English: Functional English. IELTS 4.5 average or equivalent, OR a year of full-time study conducted in English at secondary or tertiary level, OR a passport from a country with English as an official language (which is not Vietnam, so most applicants will need a test).
Funds: About AUD $5,000 plus a return airfare.
None of the three ballot countries require a separate government support letter.
How does the 462 ballot work step by step?
The ballot has five steps: confirm you are eligible, register and pay, wait for the draw, apply within 28 days if you are invited, then wait for the decision. Each step has its own traps. The 28-day clock is the one people get wrong most often.
1. Confirm your eligibility before paying
Before you spend AUD $25, walk through the universal 462 criteria above: your age at registration, a valid passport, no prior 417 or 462, and no dependent children. Then check the education and English thresholds for your country, which you will need to meet when you apply. The Department will not refund you because you found out after registering that you cannot meet the English requirement.
2. Register and pay AUD $25 via ImmiAccount
Between 4 and 25 June 2026, log into ImmiAccount and fill in the 462 ballot registration. You enter your personal and passport details, confirm you meet the basic rules, and pay AUD $25. The fee never comes back: not if you withdraw, not if you are not selected, not if you become ineligible later. Get your details right the first time. You cannot fix them once you submit.
3. Wait for the random draw
Once registration closes on 25 June 2026, the Department runs random electronic draws in rounds across the 2026-27 program year. You will not be notified if you are unsuccessful in a given round. Your status is visible in ImmiAccount.
If you do not hear anything for weeks, that is normal. The Department only emails people who are selected.
4. If selected, apply within 28 calendar days
If your registration is drawn, you get a Notification of Selection email. The same notice shows up in ImmiAccount. From the date of that email, you have 28 calendar days to submit a complete 462 application via ImmiAccount, from outside Australia. Miss the 28-day deadline and the invitation expires. There is no extension, no second chance from the same registration, and no rolling over to the next round.
5. Submit the application and pay the visa application charge
A complete 462 application includes:
your passport bio page
an English test result within 12 months
evidence of post-secondary education
evidence of about AUD $5,000 in funds plus a return ticket
health examinations
character documents
The three ballot countries do not need a separate government support letter, so you can skip that one. You pay the 462 visa application charge (AUD $840, with the price going up on 1 July each year) when you apply. This is separate from the AUD $25 ballot fee.
The Department then assesses your application against the standard 462 criteria. An invitation does not guarantee a grant. If you are granted the visa, it lasts 12 months from your first entry to Australia, and you have 12 months from grant to make that first entry.
What are your odds of being selected?
The Department does not publish registration counts before the draw, so true odds are not knowable when you register. The 2024-25 round gives a useful anchor. SBS reported 98,019 valid registrations from India alone for the 1,000-place Indian cap (roughly 1 in 98 odds), and 139,633 total valid registrations across China, India, and Vietnam combined. The 2026-27 caps are unchanged from 2024-25: 5,000 first 462s for China, 1,000 for India, 1,500 for Vietnam. 2026-27 demand may differ, but as a starting point the 2024-25 ratios are the most concrete signal we have.
Here is what we can say. Your odds are not simply the cap divided by the number of registrations. A good share of people who register turn out to be ineligible, or never apply when invited, or miss the 28-day window. So the number you are really competing against is smaller than the headline figure. For a well-prepared applicant, the real odds are better than the raw ratio suggests. So do not write yourself off at the headline number, and do not skip registration because you have decided it is hopeless.
The actionable point is simpler. If you are eligible, the AUD $25 is a small price for a non-zero chance. If you are not selected, you have lost the fee. If you are selected and not ready to apply in 28 days, you have lost both the fee and the place.
Common 462 ballot misconceptions
The ballot is new enough that misconceptions are still circulating. These are the ones we hear most often.
"Registering is the same as applying for the visa." It is not. Registration buys the right to be considered. The full application happens only if you are selected.
"The AUD $25 comes back if I am not selected." It does not. The fee is non-refundable in all circumstances.
"Registering multiple times improves my odds." It does not. One registration per applicant per round. Duplicates are excluded.
"An invitation guarantees a visa." It does not. The Department still assesses health, character, English, funds, education, and the no-dependent-children rule when you apply.
"I have to be living in China, India, or Vietnam to register." No. You can register from inside or outside Australia. But if you are selected, you must be outside Australia when you apply for the actual 462 visa.
"The cap and the ballot are the same thing." The cap is the number of first 462s the Department will grant per country in a program year. The ballot is the selection process used to allocate those places fairly. For how the OPEN, PAUSED and CLOSED cap statuses work in the non-ballot 462 countries, see our guide to 462 country caps.
"My invitation lasts the whole program year." It does not. It lasts 28 calendar days.
"I can register after 25 June if I miss the window." You cannot. Late registration is not possible. Next chance is the 2027-28 ballot.
"Last year's registration carries over." It does not. Registrations do not roll over between program years.
"I should wait to be invited before preparing documents." This is the most costly misconception. If you are selected, you have 28 days. Functional English evidence must be no more than 12 months old when you apply. The applicants who handle the 28-day window calmly are the ones who already have IELTS done, education documents organised, and bank statements ready before they ever register.
What to do in the next few days before 4 June
Selection odds are slim, so do not spend money on evidence you may not need. The right kind of preparation is free. For each document a 462 application would need, work out how long it takes you to get. Then decide whether you could realistically get it inside the 28-day window if you are selected.
Passport: check it is current and valid through the time you plan to travel in Australia. If it is not, renewing now makes sense whatever the ballot outcome.
English test: only book one in advance if you cannot get a test booked, sat, and the result issued inside about three weeks. In most cities IELTS, PTE, TOEFL iBT, and Cambridge tests have short lead times, so confident English speakers can reasonably wait until they are selected. If your English is borderline, or tests are hard to book in your city, book early. The result must be within 12 months of when you apply.
Tertiary education evidence: confirm you can get transcripts and degree certificates within a few weeks. If your institution is slow to issue documents, request them now. Two years of completed undergraduate study works for China and Vietnam; two years of post-secondary study works for India.
Funds and return airfare: you need to be able to show about AUD $5,000 plus a return airfare (or funds to buy one). A steady balance over time is stronger evidence than a sudden jump, so think now about how your account history will read when you apply.
ImmiAccount: set one up and confirm you can log in. Do this before 4 June, not on 4 June when the system will be under load.
Money for the fees themselves: AUD $25 for the registration, and about AUD $840 for the 462 visa application charge if you are selected.
The principle is simple: be ready to move fast inside 28 days if you are invited, without spending real money on documents before you know you have a place.
What happens if you are not selected?
The Department does not notify unsuccessful registrants directly. You can monitor your status in ImmiAccount. If your registration does not come through in any of the 2026-27 rounds, you can register again in the 2027-28 ballot. There is no priority carried over for prior unsuccessful registrations.
If you are close to the age 30 cut-off, missing one ballot can mean missing the visa for good. The 462 age limit is 30 inclusive, both when you register and when you apply. So a 30-year-old registering in June 2026 is still eligible. But if you turn 31 before the registration date, the door is closed. Plan around that.
Frequently asked questions
Where to go next
Tern currently helps with Work and Holiday applications for non-ballot countries: the UK, Germany, Japan, Canada, Italy, and the other 417 and 462 partner countries that hand out places without a ballot. If you are applying from one of those, start with our ultimate guide to the Working Holiday visa, which also covers the age cut-off rules that catch a lot of applicants out. If your 462 country is capped but not on the ballot (Brazil, Indonesia, and most others), our guide to 462 country caps explains what OPEN, PAUSED and CLOSED mean and when a closed cap reopens.
If you are registering for the 2026-27 ballot from China, India, or Vietnam, this guide is the support we can offer today. We are following the program closely and will update this post as the 2026-27 rounds run. If our coverage expands to invited-from-ballot 462 applicants in future program years, this is where we will say so first.
Primary sources worth bookmarking for the next few weeks:
