Requirements

So, you know a little bit about the program now and you're thinking you might like to apply.  Well before you get that far, you need to know whether or not you're eligible.  Each Disney International Program has a set of requirements that applicants need to meet if they want to be considered.  Here I have outlined the requirements for the J1 Australia & New Zealand Cultural Exchange Program as are listed by Disney, but I've elaborated on them a little bit.  If you want more information about the other programs you can check that out at the official DICP website.

To participate in the J1 Australia & New Zealand Cultural Exchange Program, you must:

• Be at least 18 years old.  This means you need to be 18 or older at the time that you interview (keep in mind though that the legal age for drinking, entering most clubs etc in the USA is 21, so this may be something you want to consider).  Also, there is no upper age limit.  This was actually the very first question I ever had about the program since I will be 31 when I begin the program.  Whilst the majority of participants are in their early 20's, there are definitely older program participants.
• Be a citizen of Australia or New Zealand.  This one is pretty self-explanatory.  If you don't meet this requirement, you might want to have a look at what programs Disney offers for your country.
• Speak English Fluently.  Once again, pretty self-explanatory.
• Be fully available to work Sunday through Saturday, including days and nights, holidays and overtime.  To my understanding you'll be doing little else besides working once on the program, hehehe! Also, since you will be moving to Florida, it's unlikely this will be much of an issue anyway.  CP's work about 5 days a week I think, and I think there may be visa requirements that mean you have to be rostered on for a minimum number of hours but I'm not 100% sure about this (I'll get back to you!)
• Be a current student at an accredited post-secondary university or at a tertiary-level accredited educational (TAFE) / Polytechnic institution.  This one has some pretty specific conditions attached to it:
1. You must have already completed year 12.
2. Your current program of study must be at least 1 year in length.
3. You must have finished at least your first year of full-time study at the time that you interview.  
4. You have to be studying in a classroom, not via correspondence/online.  This is actually a requirement of the J1 Visa.  I do believe that if you are doing the odd subject online but the majority of your subjects are in the classroom you can still be eligible but don't take my word for this. 
5. You cannot defer your studies the semester before your arrival.  This one is a point of confusion because people often mis-read this sentence.  What it means is that the semester before you go on the program, you need to be a full-time student and you can't defer to go work for six months before the program. 
6. You can apply if you are a recent graduate of a Bachelor's Degree as long as you start work at WDW within 12 months of your graduation date.
• Be able to attend an in-person presentation and interview in either Australia or New Zealand.  These are held in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane in Australia and  Dunedin, Wellington, Christchurch and Aukland in New Zealand.  This means that you may have to travel to the presentation and interview location and this will be at your own expense.  This is definitely something you will need to consider when you are considering applying because you are sacrificing time and money for a program you are not guaranteed to be accepted into.  (I don't live in a city where the interviews are held so I will have to fly to one of them for my interview, but I personally decided that the program was important enough for the cost and effort but this is definitely a personal decision!)

Ok, so that's basically the requirements for the Australia & New Zealand program.  If you have any questions you can ask me but you're probably better off contacting Disney International Recruiting and asking them.  Next up I'll be talking about preparing to apply for the program or you can return to the Masterlist.