Changes to Australia’s seasonal worker program and backpacker visas have been welcomed by Australia’s agricultural industry as something that will provide immediate relief, but the industry will not give up the fight for a dedicated agriculture visa.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the visa changes today, effective immediately, at a strawberry farm in southern Queensland as part of a four-day tour of the state.
Key points:
The changes to the seasonal worker program and backpacker visas are designed to keep workers on farms for longer
Growers have welcomed the changes but say more needs to be done
The National Farmers Federation says the changes are a “huge step forward”
The changes are designed to keep workers on farms for longer. They are in response to widespread calls for a solution to the shortage of farm labour, and after grower groups criticised the Prime Minister’s earlier proposal to engage unemployed Australians to fill the gap.
Under the relaxed rules, Pacific Islanders taking up seasonal work will be able to stay three months longer, and the age limit for working holiday visas for some countries will be lifted to 35.
Backpackers will no longer need to leave jobs every six months, and will be able to triple the length of their stay if they do extra agricultural work.
Mr Morrison said the changes would help farmers and growers get access to the labour they needed to ensure their businesses could be successful.
But he said his view regarding finding Australians to do the work had not changed. “We need to ensure that we get as many Australians into these jobs as we possibly can,” he said. “But we also have to make sure that we actually get the job done.”
Changes demonstrate Government ‘taking concerns seriously’ Horticulture lobby group Growcom said the visa changes were a welcome relief but not a solid long-term solution. “I think they’re a fantastic first option on the table and they demonstrate that the
Government is taking our concerns about our labour force seriously,” chief advocate Rachel Mackenzie said. “It will enable those backpackers who want to work in agriculture to have the capacity to work in agriculture and also stay longer.”
But Ms Mackenzie cautioned against an expectation that the changes would lead to a significant increase in farm workers coming to Australia.
