Australia is giving out a record number of short-term visas to backpackers. And a huge number of them are young Brits heading Down Under for the adventure of a lifetime. There were 321,000 working holiday visas issued last year, up more than a third on the previous 12 months.

Young people from the United Kingdom are leading the trend, making up a quarter of all backpacker visas That means nearly 80,000 Brits headed to Oz last year. They’re taking advantage of new rules that lifted the maximum age for British working holidaymakers and dumped requirement they spend 88 days each year doing regional work.

Matthew Heyes, founder of employment site Backpacker Job Board, said there had been a clear surge in the visa class this year, with global economic conditions a driving force.

He said: “Australia has just set a new record for visa grants, and the first quarter suggests we will go even higher. We’re seeing issues like the cost of living and stagnant wages motivate young people to make the trip.” New rules brought in by former PM Scott Morrison have led to the surge.

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Former Immigration Department deputy secretary Abul Rizvi said the working holidaymaker programme was going from strength to strength. He said: “Demand was inevitably going to be strong when we made it more generous, as we did. Australia is popular among Brits, and this is the first year we’ve seen the full effect of the agreement initially negotiated by Scott Morrison.

“It will have to peak at some stage, and it depends very much on our labour market – our labour market is certainly strong, and the UK’s is not as strong.”

Last year was the first time young Brits were no longer required to work and live in regional Australia to extend their stay. The number of visas issued to working holidaymakers from the UK soared from 47,000 in 2023-34 to a record 79,000 in 2024-25.

The raised eligible age for Brits, from 30 to 35, which came into effect the year before, resulted in 9100 visas being issued to that age group last financial year.

They are also staying longer overall: there were 28,600 second-year visas given to UK residents last financial year, up from 6300 the year before, and 8400 third-year visas, up from 680.

Visas issued to UK residents outstrip those from other leading nations, including France (42,000 visas issued in 2024-25), Ireland (24,100), Japan (16,000) and Germany (16,000). These visa holders still must work regionally to stay longer in Australia.

Before the 321,000 working holidaymaker visas issued in 2024-25, the highest number granted in one year was 258,000 in 2012-13.

The boom is being driven by a strong local jobs market and comparably tougher economic conditions for young people overseas. Many of Australia’s long-standing working holidaymaker agreements, including with the UK, are uncapped