Working Holiday for the not so young

Working as a Visitor
If you hold a Visitor visa, you DO NOT have permission to work in Australia.
Note: the visa label in your passport will show that condition 8101 'no work' is attached to your visa. If you entered on an Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) for tourism purposes, your travel authority also has the 'no work' condition.

Migration legislation defines work as "an activity that, in Australia, normally attracts remuneration." This means that any activity that normally attracts payment, irrespective of whether you are paid or given some other kind of reward, is deemed to be work.

Voluntary work
Some voluntary work may be permitted. You will need to approach a department office or overseas mission before undertaking any voluntary work. An officer can advise you if the proposed activity is permissible.

Generally, permission is only granted if:

your main purpose in visiting Australia is tourism, and any voluntary work you do remains incidental to this;
the work you do would not otherwise be done in return for wages by an Australian resident; and
the work activities are genuinely voluntary and you do not receive any payment in return for the activities (board or lodging may be excepted).
Penalties
Working without permission is an offence that attracts a fine of up to $10,000. It may result in your visa being cancelled and your holiday cut short. You may also be precluded from coming back to Australia for periods of up to three years.

If you want to come to Australia and work, it is important to obtain a visa that allows you to do this. Visitor visas do not allow you to work. Those wanting to visit and work should consider the Working Holiday program, or another visa that allows work.

Visiting Academic Visa
Overview
The Visiting Academic visa (subclass 419) provides for a temporary stay for academics to visit Australia to observe or participate (without remuneration other than for living expenses and travel costs) in research projects at the invitation of an Australian tertiary institution or research organisation.

The Visiting Academic visa is not intended for academics receiving remuneration (for example, a fellowship, salary, stipend, grant, scholarship, award or allowance (other than towards living expenses) from the inviting institution. Such persons should, as appropriate to their circumstances, be assessed against visa 418 Education or Student (Temporary) visa.

Overseas tertiary graduates essentially seeking work experience opportunities in an Australian tertiary or research institution may be assessed against visa 442 Occupational Trainee.