Your status is:
1. lawful - if you have a valid visa
2. unlawful - if your visa has expired.

         You need to look at two things:
1. Period of stay - stated on your visa as HOLDER(S) PERMITTED TO REMAIN IN AUSTRALIA FOR (period stated; ie 03 months; 01 year) FROM DATE OF (first entry or each arrival)

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. The "arrived" stamp showing the date of your last entry.

 

 

For instance, if your visa says PERMITTED TO REMAIN IN AUSTRALIA FOR 01 YEAR and you arrived less than one year ago, your visa is valid and you have permission to stay until the year is up.
If, on the contrary, you have stayed beyond the permitted period, you no longer have a valid visa and your status in Australia is that of unlawful non-citizen. You must make arrangements to leave Australia without delay. If you do not, you risk being taken to an Immigration detention centre and held there while arrangements are made for your removal from Australia.
Note: If you have lodged in Australia an application for another visa and you have been granted a Bridging Visa, in the period of stay your visa will read:
"HOLDER(S) PERMITTED TO REMAIN IN AUSTRALIA UNTIL 28 DAYS AFTER NOTIFICATION ON PRIMARY DECISION OR DECISION BY A REVIEW AUTHORITY, OR WITHDRAWAL OF APPLICATION IN RESPECT OF APPLICATION RECEIPT NO.(NUMBER)"
When you receive notification of the outcome of that visa application, if the decision is unfavourable, your bridging visa will remain valid for further 28 days, to give you time to organise your departure or to seek a review of the unfavourable decision. If you are unsure of your status or whether a decision has been made on your application, you should check with the DIMA office that is handling your case.
If you travelled to Australia with an ETA, there is no visa shown in your passport. Your visa is valid for three months from the date of the arrival stamp in your passport. Make sure that you leave Australia before the three months are up.

        As a general rule, only Australian citizens, Australian permanent residents - ie, migrants who are not yet Australian citizens - and New Zealand citizens who have entered Australia on a valid passport, have unrestricted rights to employment in Australia. Any other foreign national who wants to work in Australia must have a temporary visa that allows employment
People working illegally are subject to immediate removal from Australia. Their visas can be cancelled and they can be precluded from coming back to Australia for periods of up to three years.
From November 2000, DIMA will issue written warnings to employers and labour suppliers of illegal workers. When you apply for a job, employers and labour suppliers will be asking you to prove that you have the right to work in Australia before they give you the job. Be prepared to show them your passport and your valid visa stating your work rights.
When in doubt, you or an employer can call the work rights information line on 1800 040 070. You can also complete an 'Authority to Obtain Details of Work Rights from DIMA' form. With this form you give DIMA permission to disclose to employers and labour suppliers information on your work status. Completed forms can be faxed to 1800 505 550.

        Temporary visas are granted subject to conditions. While some are mandatory and appear on all the visas of a certain class, for example the "no work" condition on tourist visas, others may only apply in certain circumstances. All conditions shown in the visa must be observed.
A list of the conditions appearing on temporary visas can be found here. Check the condition numbers on your visa against the explanations on the list.

     

You Can	You Cannot
Shop until you drop	Help in the shop
Visit Uluru	Lead the tour
Visit your relatives and friends	Help in their restaurant
Do a scuba course	Teach the course
Go to the opera	Sing the aria
Have plastic surgery (medical treatment visitor visa only )	Perform the operation

Remember: Visitors/tourists cannot do any work.
Work means any activity for which a person would normally be paid, irrespective of whether you are paid or given some other kind of reward.
Working without permission is an offence that attracts a fine of up to $10,000.
A breach of the NO WORK condition can result in your visa being cancelled and your holiday being cut short.

You Must	You Must Not
Remain for the first 12 months of your course or for the duration of the course, if the course is of less than 12 months, with the education provider with whom you originally enrolled.	Change education provider within the first 12 months of any preliminary or principal course for which you were originally enrolled, unless the course is less than 12 months, in which case you cannot change provider for the duration of the course.
Advise your education provider if you wish to change after 12 months.
Maintain enrolment in a registered	Work if your visa has the NO WORK condition
course, attend classes and have academic results that satisfy your provider.
Notify changes of address to DIMA if your visas granted before 1 November 2000.	Work for more than 20 hours per week during any week your course is in session if your visa has the WORK LIMITATION condition.
Notify your education provider of your address and any changes if your visa was granted on or after 1 November 2000.
Leave Australia at the completion of your course or before if you decide not to continue study.	Remain in Australia upon expiry of your visa or if you decide not to continue your course.
Maintain your overseas student health cover during your stay in Australia as a student.	Let your overseas student health cover lapse.

        You must approach DIMA immediately to discuss your eligibility to apply for a further student visa.

        If your visa is subject to condition 8206, you are not permitted to change institution/provider during the first 12 months of your course without DIMA permission. You should apply for a student visa with permission to change provider on form 157C. You will need to give reasons for changing your institution/provider and will be permitted to change only if you can show exceptional circumstances.
If your visa was granted on or after 1 November 2000 and you are undertaking prerequisite studies you must complete that course and 12 months of your principal course before being permitted to change institution/provider. If your principal course is for a period of less than 12 months duration you cannot change provider prior to the end of that course.
If you have completed the first year of your principal course you do not have to have DIMA permission to change provider. You should advise your old institution/provider and DIMA that you are moving to a new institution/provider. Otherwise your old institution/provider may report you to DIMA as not satisfying course requirements and your visa may be subject to cancellation action.
AusAID students are normally required to return to their home country for at least two years to use the skills and knowledge they gained while in Australia under the AusAID ort financial assistance program before they can apply for permanent residency under the Employer Nomination Scheme, Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme, a Labour Agreement or Regional Headquarters Agreement.

        You should depart Australia within one month of finishing or stopping your course. If your visa is still valid you have one month to depart or to enrol in another course if you wish to continue studying in Australia. If for some reason you cannot or may not want to depart you must contact DIMA immediately to discuss your personal circumstances. If your visa has expired you are an unlawful non-citizen.

        The work condition on your visa does not allow you to change employer or activity without prior authority from DIMA. If you are considering changing employer or occupation or have changed employer or occupation without DIMA's permission, you should contact DIMA immediately as your visa could be subject to cancellation. DIMA allows visa holders to change employer where both the gaining and losing employers agree to the change.

        The work condition on your visa does not allow you to change employer or activity without prior authority from DIMA. If your employment with your original employer has finished earlier than the validity of your visa, you should depart without delay. If you wish to continue to work in Australia and you have another employer prepared to sponsor you, you have 28 days from the end of your previous employment to lodge a new visa application. After the 28 days your visa may be cancelled and you may be required to leave Australia immediately.

        There are some options available to you if you want to stay longer or remain permanently, but you have to apply for a new visa. For information on the various visa classes check the relevant titles shown on this site or visit a DIMA office. Remember, don't let your visa expire. Make your inquiry and lodge your new visa application while your current visa is valid.

        Failure to observe a visa condition can lead to cancellation of your visa. Without a visa you have no right to be in Australia. You have to leave immediately and may be held in an immigration detention centre until your departure. If you breach a visa work condition you may be fined up to $10,000.

        If you work without work rights you commit an offence against the Migration Act. Your visa can be cancelled, you could be held in an Immigration Detention Centre until your departure and could be fined up to $10,000

        At this point, the news for you is not good. Under the Migration Act 1958, if your visa expires while you are still in Australia you become an "unlawful non-citizen". The Act requires that you must be detained immediately and removed from Australia as soon as practical.
DIMA's Compliance staff locate people who overstay their visas and become "unlawful non-citizens" and ensure that they depart Australia, if there is no legal reason for them to remain.
If you made an oversight, as soon as you become aware that you are an "unlawful non-citizen" you should make immediate arrangements to depart and contact the Compliance Section of the DIMA office closest to your location with evidence of your departure booking.
Depending on your circumstance, a DIMA officer may decide to grant you a bridging visa, rather than detain you. The bridging visa will give you lawful status for a short time and the opportunity to organise your personal affairs before departing or to lodge an application for a new visa, if you are eligible for one.

        You have made the wrong decision.
        Your problem is not going to go away. Sooner or later you will be caught. Under the law, when you are caught you will be detained and removed. That means that you can be held in an Immigration Detention Centre until the day of your removal. Your departure will take place under immigration supervision.
If you approach DIMA voluntarily to discuss your circumstances you could be granted a bridging visa, but your chances of being granted a bridging visa are much less favourable if you are located by a DIMA compliance officer.
As an unlawful non-citizen you are not entitled to Medicare, social security, education and most other services available to lawful residents. You also have no right to employment.

        When you chose to remain unlawfully in Australia you made a conscious decision to commit an offence against the Australian Migration Act.
If you have overstayed your visa by more than 28 days you are subject to an 'exclusion period'. That means that you will not be permitted to come back to Australia for a period of up to three years.
If you are detained and removed at government expense you will be charged these costs. If you have valuables and assets in Australia these can be confiscated to recover the amount spent for your detention and removal. If you are unable to repay these costs before your removal, DIMA will keep a record of your debt and, if in future, even in 10 or 20 years time, you will not be allowed to travel to Australia unless your repay the outstanding debt.
If you are an unlawful non-citizen, it is in your best interest to contact a Compliance Section in DIMA to discuss your personal circumstances.