Can you work on a Bridging visa B (Subclass 020) in Australia in 2026?

Plain-language guide · general information, not immigration advice

Yes — a Bridging visa B (BVB) (Subclass 020) can come with permission to work, but the visa itself does not grant work rights on its own. Under the Australian Department of Home Affairs official page for Bridging visa B (BVB) (Subclass 020), you might be allowed to work if the substantive visa you had, or the visa you applied for, lets you work. Your grant letter tells you which conditions apply to your BVB. This article is general information only and is not personalised advice for your situation — the conditions printed on your own grant letter and shown in VEVO are what govern you, and anything you are unsure about should be checked against the Department's current published material or with a registered professional.

How do I know whether my BVB allows work?

Two documents decide it: the grant letter you received when the BVB was granted, and your current record in VEVO (Visa Entitlement Verification Online). The Department states that it will let you know which conditions apply to your BVB if the visa is granted, and that you can see whether you have work restrictions in VEVO.

Read the grant letter first, because it is the notice of what was actually imposed on your visa. Then confirm it in VEVO, because VEVO reflects your live status — including whether the BVB has come into effect yet. If the two ever appear to disagree, the conditions on your current visa are what you must comply with while you hold it.

Which visa's conditions apply while I still hold a substantive visa?

This is the part that most often confuses people, because a BVB can be held and not yet be in effect. A BVB comes into effect when it is granted — if your substantive visa has already ceased since you applied for the BVB, or where the BVB is more beneficial than your current bridging visa — or, otherwise, when your current substantive visa ceases.

Until that happens, you are still on the substantive visa. The Department is explicit: if you hold a substantive visa when your BVB is granted, you must continue to comply with the conditions of the substantive visa. When your substantive visa ceases, the conditions of your BVB apply. So if you were working under a Student visa (subclass 500) that carried a work limit and your BVB has not yet come into effect, the limit attached to that student visa still binds you — not the BVB.

What decides the answer: the old visa, the visa in progress, or both?

Both sides matter, and the test runs through them in order.

Situation	What you follow	Can you work?
You still hold a substantive visa	Conditions of that substantive visa	Only if that substantive visa's own conditions allow work
Your substantive visa has ceased and the BVB is in effect	Conditions of the BVB, as notified	Only if the BVB conditions allow it
The visa you had and the visa you applied for both have work restrictions	BVB	No — you cannot work on the BVB
Either the old visa or the visa being processed allows work	BVB conditions as granted	Possibly — check the grant letter and VEVO

The decisive sentence on the official page is that if the visa you had, and the visa you applied for, have work restrictions, you will not be able to work with a BVB. It is the combination that closes the door, not one side alone.

An example makes the logic concrete. Assume an applicant held a Visitor visa with a no-work condition and has applied for a substantive visa that is also subject to a restriction on work: the BVB granted in that chain will not carry work rights. Assume instead that the applicant's previous substantive visa allowed unrestricted work and the pending application is for a visa that also allows work: the BVB conditions notified at grant should reflect that, and the grant letter will say so.

Can I ask the Department to change the conditions on my BVB?

No. The Department states plainly that it is not possible to apply to change conditions on your BVB. If you hold a BVB that does not permit work and you want to change the conditions, you must apply for a Bridging visa A (BVA) (Subclass 010), and as part of that process you must prove that you are in financial hardship.

There is a related hard limit worth knowing: you cannot change the conditions on a Bridging visa that is granted based on a judicial review application.

Does travelling out of Australia change my work rights?

The travel facility does not itself switch work rights on or off; your notified conditions do. What travel does change is your visa's survival. When a BVB is granted, the Department tells you when the specified travel period ends. If you are outside Australia when that period ends, the visa ceases, and you cannot return to Australia on a ceased BVB. Anyone who needs to travel again after the travel period has ended must apply for, and be granted, another BVB before leaving.

When does a BVB stop, and what happens to my job then?

For a BVB granted on or after 19 November 2016, the visa ends 35 calendar days after the refusal decision or an Administrative Appeals Tribunal decision on the associated substantive visa application, after a determination that the application or AAT review application is invalid, or after you withdraw the substantive visa application or AAT review application. It ends 28 calendar days after a judicial review body upholds the refusal decision, or after you withdraw a related judicial review application.

A BVB granted before 19 November 2016 ends 28 days after the relevant notification, refusal, withdrawal or tribunal outcome described on the official page. Once you have been notified of an outcome, VEVO shows exactly how long you can stay. Because a BVB cannot be extended, staying longer requires applying for a new visa.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I automatically get work rights when my BVB is granted?

No. A BVB does not carry work rights by default; permission depends on whether the substantive visa you had or the visa you applied for allows work. The conditions that apply to your BVB are set out in your grant letter and can be confirmed in VEVO.

How do I check whether my BVB has work restrictions?

Use VEVO to see your current visa conditions and any work restrictions, and cross-check against the grant letter issued when the BVB was granted. If the BVB has not yet come into effect, you are still bound by the conditions of the substantive visa you hold.

My BVB says no work — can I ask for the condition to be changed?

You cannot apply to change conditions on a BVB. The route the Department describes is to apply for a Bridging visa A (BVA) and, as part of that application, prove that you are in financial hardship.

I still hold a substantive visa and a BVB at the same time. Which conditions do I follow?

While your substantive visa is still in force, you must comply with its conditions, even though you also hold a BVB. The BVB conditions take over when your substantive visa ceases.

What happens if my substantive visa application is refused while I hold a BVB?

Your BVB continues for a short, fixed window: for a BVB granted on or after 19 November 2016, it ends 35 calendar days after the refusal or related AAT decision, or 28 calendar days after a judicial review body upholds the refusal. VEVO shows the exact date once you have been notified of the outcome.

Can I work on a BVB granted for judicial review?

Conditions on a bridging visa granted on the basis of a judicial review application cannot be changed at all. Check the conditions notified at grant in your grant letter and VEVO, since that is what determines whether work is permitted in your case.