Visa work-hour records and roster warnings
Some visas limit how much the holder can work. The limits are set by the Department of Home Affairs, checked in VEVO, and easy to go over without noticing. What to check, and what a warning on a roster can and cannot do.
General information only, not legal advice. Rules differ between awards, agreements, contracts and states, and what applies depends on the employee. Check the official source, and ask a workplace relations professional when it matters.
The short answer
Some visas carry a condition that limits work. For most student visa holders, Home Affairs limits work to 48 hours a fortnight while their course is in session, and lifts the limit during scheduled course breaks.
Employers must not allow a visa holder to work in breach of a work condition. A visa’s conditions are checked in VEVO, the Department of Home Affairs’ online service, rather than taken from a form or a roster.
| Question | Where the answer is |
|---|---|
| Can this person work, and on what conditions? | VEVO, which an employer can use with the person’s consent |
| What is the hours limit? | The visa’s conditions, as VEVO shows them |
| When does a fortnight start? | As Home Affairs defines it, which is not your pay fortnight |
| When is the course out of session? | The education provider’s published course dates |
| When does the visa expire? | VEVO |
Official sources
Check the rule against these, in their current versions, before relying on it.
| Source | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Department of Home Affairs: Student visa (subclass 500) | Work conditions on a student visa |
| Department of Home Affairs: check visa details and conditions | Checking a person’s visa conditions in VEVO |
Worked examples
General examples of where to look. They are not advice about any particular employee.
| Situation | What to check |
|---|---|
| A student works 26 hours one week and is rostered 24 the next | Fifty hours in the fortnight is over a 48 hour limit, even though neither week looks long |
| A student’s course is on its summer break | The course dates show when the limit is lifted, and when it returns |
| A visa is due to expire next month | Check VEVO again before the expiry date |
Employer checklist
- Check each visa holder’s conditions in VEVO before they start
- Record the hours limit and the expiry date
- Count hours over the Home Affairs fortnight, not the pay period
- Record course break dates from the education provider
- Check VEVO again before the expiry date, and whenever anything changes
What Roster Flow records, and what it does not decide
- A visa hours limit each person records, counted over the student fortnight from a Monday
- A warning on the roster before you publish a fortnight that goes over
- Visa type and expiry, and course break dates, kept by the person themselves
- Whether a visa allows work, or what its conditions are: that is a VEVO check
- Whether a person’s own record of their visa is correct
Review log
13 September 2026: written by Roster Flow from the structure of the National Employment Standards and modern awards.
18 September 2026: every statement on this page checked against the official sources it names, by Roster Flow. It is general information, not advice from a workplace relations professional.
What that check covers, and what to confirm for your own situation:
- The student visa work limit, and how Home Affairs defines a fortnight
- Employer obligations and penalties under the Migration Act
- How employers can use VEVO, and with what consent
- That every source link opens the current version of the source
Questions
What do the rules say about visa work hours?
Some visas carry a condition that limits work. For most student visa holders, Home Affairs limits work to 48 hours a fortnight while their course is in session, and lifts the limit during scheduled course breaks.
Is there more to visa work hours than that?
Employers must not allow a visa holder to work in breach of a work condition. A visa’s conditions are checked in VEVO, the Department of Home Affairs’ online service, rather than taken from a form or a roster.
Does Roster Flow decide visa work hours for me?
No. It does not interpret an award and it does not work out what anybody is paid. Whether a visa allows work, or what its conditions are: that is a VEVO check stays with the business and its own advisers, and this page is general information rather than advice about your situation.
Where do the rules on visa work hours come from?
Department of Home Affairs: Student visa (subclass 500), covering work conditions on a student visa. Department of Home Affairs: check visa details and conditions, covering checking a person’s visa conditions in VEVO. Read them in their current versions before you rely on anything here, because they change.