The number of young Irish people moving to work in Australia has increased by 33% in the past year.

According to the Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship, 22,788 visas were issued in the 12 months to last June, compared with 17,120 in the previous year.

A working holiday visa is increasingly being seen as a “rite of passage” for many young Irish people, according to the Australian embassy in Ireland. The programme allows 18 to 30-year-olds to stay in Australia for up to a year and work with the same employer for up to six months.

Working holiday visas can be extended for a second year provided the person spends three months working in regional Australia doing “specified work” such as fruit picking or construction.

In the past four years the number of Irish applying for the visa has increased by 81% from 12,585 in 2004-5. New South Wales is the most popular destination within Australia, with more than 5,315 Irish people intending to settle there last year.

The number granted a sponsored business visa also grew, by 8%. This allows employers in Australia to hire skilled overseas workers for up to four years. Some 2,080 Irish citizens were granted the visa for 2007-8 and 2,240 in 2008-9. Ireland was the only country of the top 15 availing of this scheme that showed an increase.

Lisa O’Regan, marketing manager for Usit, a travel agency, said it has noticed a surge in the number applying for a working holiday visa. Last February nearly 1,000 people attended a Dublin roadshow aimed at people interested in travelling to Australia. “A huge factor is obviously the redundancies and job shortages here,” said O’Regan.

Three members of the O’Donnell family from Malahide, north Dublin, have relocated to Australia in the past few years. Fianna O’Donnell, 24, has been working in Melbourne for three years, while her brother and sister now live in Perth. She originally went out on a working holiday visa but enjoyed it so much that she decided to stay longer.

“I dropped out of college and chose to go travelling while I decided what I really wanted to do. I love the laid-back attitude there,” she said. “Melbourne is so multicultural and diverse, there’s always something different going on.”

Source: Claire Hartnett, Times Online