French national aiming to become nation’s best shearer faces deportation in 39 days

Nicolas Hardy found his life’s calling when he came to Australia from France. Now the 35-year-old will have to throw it all away.

A French national living his dream of becoming one of Australia’s best sheep shearers is facing being booted out of the country in just 39 days due to a visa system experts warn is hurting farmers and ultimately everyday Aussies at the checkout.

Nicolas Hardy, 35, arrived in Australia five years ago and began working as a polo horse trainer. However, his life was turned upside down during the pandemic as the polo clubs shut down.

The former French naval officer was thrown a lifeline when a farmer gave him refuge on his farm.

“It was there I met one of the shearers and he sold me the dream,” Mr Hardy told news.com.au. “So through Covid, I went to shearing school with a couple of fellows from England and Germany. We learnt how to shear and I became a shearer.”

Mr Hardy said his life working in rural Australia ever since has been an “incredible experience”.

Nicholas Hardy has only 42 days left on his visa.

“I like the challenge every day of accomplishing a task, to be part of a different atmosphere with different people from around the world,” he said. “And the great opportunity to see some of Australia that no tourists will see, I’m very glad to experience that.

“That’s definitely like a great adventure. It’s like going after the mystery of life.”

The adventure has left him with the dream of becoming the “best French sheep shearer in Australia”.

Having been mentored by several of Australia’s leading trainers, he can now shear up to 150 Merino ewes or 200 crossbred ewes a day.

Sadly, his dream could be shot down as — like many shearing industry workers in Australia who have come from around the globe — he is running out of visa options to keep working here. It’s not because his employers don’t want to sponsor him to stay.

Lachlan Robertson, a shearing contractor from the NSW Riverina region, is sponsoring Mr Hardy’s skilled worker visa application — as he did not want to lose one of his workers amid an industry shortage.

“I think he needs to stay as he’s one of my most reliable workers and he contributes greatly to the local community and economy,” Mr Robertson told news.com.au.

Lachlan Robertson is trying to sponsor Mr Hardy.

However, he has doubts the application will be successful.

The reason is that the rules currently require Mr Hardy to have worked for the same shearing contractor for three years continuously to qualify for the 494 Sponsorship Visa.

Mr Hardy said this was “impossible” given the nature of the industry.

“Shearers move from state to state to shear from contractor to contractor, and you need to find the right contractor with the right amount of sheep because you want to keep shearing all year long,” he said.

He said it was frustrating for him because he considers himself a “highly qualified immigrant”.

“I have two masters degrees. I went to shearing school to get certificates. I’m a bulletproof shearer,” he said. “I just can’t find any opportunity to stay and be part of this great adventure.”

He said he has spent thousands of dollars on an immigration agent to help with advice and documentation to stay in Australia, such as income tax records, transcripts of his French primary school and university qualifications.

Mr Hardy can shear up to 200 sheep a day.

He wants to become of the best shearers in the nation.

If he was to be sent back to Europe, he said he wouldn’t know what to do — as his passion is shearing and the season in France is only two months of the year.

NSW Farmers Association wool committee chair David Young said Mr Hardy’s problem was not uncommon. He said the current visa rules were making it harder for Aussie farms to attract foreign workers — ultimately leading to increased costs for farmers and everyday Aussies at the checkout.

“We have long advocated for a much more flexible or bespoke approach to visas with regards to rural Australia, especially in industries where there’s a proven shortage and shearing is one of those,” he told news.com.au.

One of the issues he said was that jobs like shearing are considered “unskilled” jobs.

Mr Hardy wants to be one of the best sheep shearers in the nation.

“Now some people might call it unskilled work and anyone that does I dare them to pick up a piece and see if they can do more than two sheep without finding it too hard,” he said.

“It’s definitely not something anyone can just come in and start at and be successful at. It takes a lot of work and training.”

He said the shortage of farm workers was easing after the pandemic as backpackers continue to take up roles in rural Australia. However, he said farmers were still struggling to find “appropriate labour”.

“This means the work is either just not getting done, or the costs of securing labour is higher. Ultimately this impacts on the cost of our production and your cost of living.”

The Department of Home Affairs declined to comment on Mr Hardy’s case.

However, it said the Australian Government recognises the important role regional visa holders play in supporting regional economies and employers, including employers in the agricultural sector, to source skilled workers where Australian workers are not available.

“A range of visa programs and arrangements are in place to assist regional employers and businesses address labour needs,” a spokeswoman said.

“The ANZSCO occupation of Shearer is on the Regional Occupation List and is an eligible occupation under the Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) Subclass 494 visa (SESR). Under the Subclass 494 visa, work must be full-time and ongoing.”

The subclass 494 is a provisional visa with a pathway to permanent residence.

As shearing is typically seasonal work in Australia rather than ongoing, the Temporary Work (Short Stay Specialist) (subclass 400) visa is more commonly used for experienced wool handlers to work in Australia in seasonal, non-ongoing but highly specialised positions.

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