Does dive instructor work count towards your 88 days?
Dive instructor work generally falls under the tourism and hospitality category: for a 417 Working Holiday visa it counts when carried out in Northern Australia or Remote and Very Remote Australia or Additional tourism and hospitality postcode, and for a 462 Work and Holiday visa it counts in Northern Australia or Remote and Very Remote Australia or Additional tourism and hospitality postcode.
Dive instructor work can count towards specified work in some parts of Australia, but it does not qualify everywhere.
Which category it falls under
Tourism and hospitality
- accommodation: hotels, motels, bed and breakfasts, backpacker hostels, caravan parks and camping grounds, commercial housekeeping services, boarding houses, guest houses and reception centres
- food and beverage: cafes and restaurants, takeaway food services, catering services, pubs, taverns and bars, hospitality clubs
- services provided directly to tourists: tourist guides and operators, outdoor adventure or activity instructors, tourist transport service workers, gallery or museum workers, travel agency and tourist information workers, event and entertainment venue workers
Only counts if carried out after 21 June 2021 in Northern Australia, Remote and Very Remote Australia, or postcodes 4406, 4416, 4498 and 7215.
Outdoor adventure or activity instructors are named in the tourism and hospitality definition.
Where it counts
417 Working Holiday
Counts when carried out in Northern Australia or Remote and Very Remote Australia or Additional tourism and hospitality postcode.
462 Work and Holiday
Counts when carried out in Northern Australia or Remote and Very Remote Australia or Additional tourism and hospitality postcode.
Location examples
Unlikely to qualify
Examples derived from the current official postcode classifications for the tourism and hospitality category (subclass 417).
Read more about the whole category: 88 days tourism and hospitality work → or see where it counts on the map. UK passport? You may not need 88 days at all.
Common questions
Does dive instructor work count for 88 days?
Dive instructor work generally falls under the tourism and hospitality category: for a 417 Working Holiday visa it counts when carried out in Northern Australia or Remote and Very Remote Australia or Additional tourism and hospitality postcode, and for a 462 Work and Holiday visa it counts in Northern Australia or Remote and Very Remote Australia or Additional tourism and hospitality postcode.
Can I do dive instructor work in Sydney or Melbourne for my 88 days?
No. Sydney, Melbourne and the other major capitals are not within the eligible areas for tourism and hospitality work, so the same job there won't count.
Do I need payslips for dive instructor work to count?
Yes. Specified work must be paid in accordance with Australian workplace laws, and payslips are the primary evidence Home Affairs lists. Cash-in-hand work is both unlawful pay and unprovable.
Similar jobs
Official sources
Migration (Specified work and areas for subclass 417 visas) Instrument (LIN 22/012) 2022 — Compilation No. 3
Federal Register of Legislation · last checked 12 August 2026
View official government source ↗Specified work for Working Holiday visa (subclass 417)
Department of Home Affairs · last checked 12 August 2026
View official government source ↗Migration (Specified work and areas for subclass 462 visas) Instrument (LIN 22/013) 2022 — Compilation No. 3
Federal Register of Legislation · last checked 12 August 2026
View official government source ↗Specified work for Work and Holiday visa (subclass 462)
Department of Home Affairs · last checked 12 August 2026
View official government source ↗
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General information only, based on rules last checked 12 August 2026 — not immigration advice.