Australia Student Visa Work Hours: The Fortnightly Cap and Your CV

If you hold an Australian student visa, the number of hours you can work affects more than your payslip. It shapes which jobs you can accept, how you describe your availability on your CV and what you say when an employer asks, "How many hours can you do?" This guide explains Australia student visa work hours in plain terms: the fortnightly cap, what usually counts, and how to present your availability honestly so employers can roster you with confidence.

Important: this is general information, not legal or migration advice. Visa conditions change, and your own visa grant may carry specific conditions. Always check the Department of Home Affairs Student visa (subclass 500) page and your visa grant notice, or speak to a registered migration agent if your situation is unusual.

How the fortnightly cap works

At the time of writing, Home Affairs states that most Student visa (subclass 500) holders can work up to 48 hours per fortnight while their course is in session, and unlimited hours during scheduled course breaks. The limit is set per fortnight, not per week, which is where many students get confused.

Why "per fortnight" matters

A fortnight-based cap gives some flexibility. You could work 30 hours one week and 18 the next, and still be within 48 hours for that fortnight. But it is not a licence to work 48 hours in one week and nothing the next unless you are sure how the fortnights are counted.

The visa condition defines a fortnight as a 14-day period starting on a Monday. Read the official wording yourself, but the practical takeaway many students use is this: any two consecutive Monday-to-Sunday weeks should add up to 48 hours or less. Planning that way avoids accidental breaches when fortnights overlap.

Week	Hours worked	Week + previous week	Within 48?
Week 1	20	(start)	Yes
Week 2	28	48	Yes
Week 3	26	54	No
Week 4	22	48	Yes

In this example, weeks 1–2 look fine, but weeks 2–3 add up to 54. If you plan by consecutive pairs of weeks, you spot the problem before you accept the extra shift.

Course breaks

During your education provider's scheduled breaks (for example, between semesters), Home Affairs says you can generally work unlimited hours. The key word is scheduled. A week when you simply have no classes, or a period after you have deferred, may not count. Check your provider's official academic calendar and keep a copy.

Exceptions and special cases

• Higher degree by research: students in a master's by research or doctoral degree have generally had unlimited work hours once their course has started. Confirm this applies to you.
• Work that is part of your course: work experience that is a formal, registered part of your course is generally not counted towards the cap. A placement your provider has registered is different from a casual job you found yourself.
• Volunteering: genuinely unpaid volunteer work for a not-for-profit organisation may not count, but unpaid work that is really a job (for example, an "unpaid trial" that goes on for weeks) is a different matter. If in doubt, check the official guidance.
• Before your course starts: work rights generally begin once your course has commenced, not on visa grant.

Rules have shifted in recent years, including temporary relaxations that have since ended, so don't rely on what a friend was told a year or two ago.

Tracking your hours across more than one job

The cap applies to your total hours across all jobs, not per employer. Two employers each rostering you for 24 hours a fortnight is already 48. Neither employer can see the other's roster, so the responsibility for staying within the limit sits with you.

A simple tracker helps:

1. Create a sheet with one row per week (Monday to Sunday).
2. Add a column for each employer, plus a total column.
3. Add a "this week + last week" column and highlight anything above 48.
4. Mark scheduled course breaks clearly, using dates from your provider's calendar.
5. Record actual hours from payslips, not just rostered hours. Shifts often run over.

If you already track job applications, you can add a tab to the same file. Our guide to a job application tracker spreadsheet has a layout that adapts well.

Also remember your workplace rights. Student visa holders have the same workplace protections as other workers in Australia, including minimum pay. The Fair Work Ombudsman has information for visa holders and a way to ask for help without needing to be a citizen.

What the work hours cap means for your CV

Most employers hiring students for casual or part-time roles care about one practical question: can they roster you when they need you? Your CV can answer that clearly and honestly. (Australians often say "resume"; both words are understood.)

Add a short work rights line

Near the top, under your contact details, add a line like:

Work rights: Student visa (subclass 500). Available up to 24 hours per week during semester; full-time during university breaks.

Why "24 hours per week" rather than "48 per fortnight"? Many employers roster weekly, so a weekly figure is easier to read. But only write it if it matches how you will actually work. If you prefer to quote the fortnightly figure, that is fine too:

Work rights: Student visa (subclass 500) with work rights of up to 48 hours per fortnight during study periods and unlimited hours during scheduled breaks.

Don't list your visa grant number, passport number or date of birth on your CV. Employers can check your work rights through the government's VEVO system with your permission at the hiring stage.

Be specific about availability

A vague "flexible availability" line can backfire if you then can't do the shifts offered. Give real detail instead:

Availability: Weekday evenings after 5pm, Saturdays and Sundays. Full-time from 18 November to 24 February (university break).

Update the dates every semester. Out-of-date break dates suggest the CV hasn't been looked at in a while.

Don't overstate hours on past roles

If you previously worked casual jobs in Australia, describe them accurately. Writing "full-time" for a job you did during semester could raise questions about whether you complied with your visa conditions, and it isn't truthful. Use "casual" or "part-time" and focus your bullet points on what you achieved:

• Casual Barista, Café name, Melbourne (Mar 2024 – present)
• Prepared drinks during peak morning service, averaging a steady queue without complaints escalated to the manager.
• Trained two new casual staff on the till and opening checklist.

Only include figures you can stand behind. If you don't know a number, describe the task and the result in words.

Tailor the CV to the shifts on offer

If a job ad asks for weekday daytime availability and you have lectures then, be honest that it may not fit, or apply only if you can genuinely cover enough of the roster. Keywords from the ad (for example "food safety", "POS systems" or "customer service") belong on your CV only when they describe what you have actually done. Our guide on how to tailor a CV without lying shows where the line is.

For layout, length and section order for the local market, see our Australian resume format guide, and check whether each employer wants a PDF or Word CV in Australia.

If you are applying from outside Australia, or juggling applications to employers in several countries, the QuickApplyPilot remote and international jobs tool can help you organise applications and adapt your CV and availability wording for each location. It doesn't check visa eligibility, so keep using official sources for that.

Answering availability questions in applications and interviews

Online application forms often ask, "Do you have the right to work in Australia?" and "Are there any restrictions?" Answer yes to the first if your visa allows work, and be upfront about restrictions in the second. A clear, calm answer reads better than a vague one.

In an interview, you might say:

"I'm on a student visa, so during semester I can work up to 48 hours a fortnight. I'm looking for around 20 to 24 hours a week, mainly evenings and weekends. During the summer break from late November I can work full-time."

This tells the manager exactly how to roster you. If they ask you to take extra shifts later, check your tracker before saying yes. It is better to decline politely than to breach a visa condition. You could say: "I'd love to help, but that would take me over my visa hours this fortnight. I can do the following week."

Quick checklist

• Confirm current work conditions on the official Home Affairs page and your visa grant notice.
• Download your provider's academic calendar and note scheduled break dates.
• Track hours weekly across every job, using actual hours from payslips.
• Check every pair of consecutive weeks against the 48-hour limit during study periods.
• Add a clear work rights line and specific availability to your CV.
• Describe past roles accurately as casual or part-time.
• Update availability dates each semester.
• Prepare a one-sentence explanation of your work hours for interviews.
• If anything is unclear, ask your provider's international student support team or a registered migration agent.

Handled well, your work hours limit is just another piece of practical information on your CV. Employers hire students all the time; what they value is knowing exactly when you can work and trusting that you will stick to it.