Farmers, Coalition warn against backpackers visa change

Labor has been warned that scrapping a requirement for backpackers to work in regional areas would deliver a major blow to country Australia.

The Coalition and farmers have cautioned against removing a requirement for backpackers to work in regional Australia. Picture: Lachie Millard

Farmers, hospitality providers and the Coalition have warned that scrapping a requirement for backpackers to work in regional areas would deliver a major blow to country Australia, after the federal government left the door open to reforming the controversial visa condition.

Labor has ruled out a proposal to limit the Working Holiday Maker visa to one year, while canvassing other measures to “reduce vulnerability” including changing the requirement for travellers to work in the regions for 88 days.

Under a major shake-up of the migration system, the government has introduced a slew of changes in a bid to bring overseas arrivals down to “sustainable levels”, revealing on Monday that international student visa fees would be increased from $710 to $1600, the highest in the world.

In a discussion paper on regional migration, Labor flagged concerns that WHM visa holders were more prone to exploitation than other temporary migrants and suggested that there would be other ways to “incentivise” backpackers to go bush.

National Farmers Federation acting CEO Charlie Thomas said the agriculture sector relied on backpackers – who are required to complete three months of “specified work” in regional Australia to qualify for a second and third-year visa – to fill workforce gaps.

“To remove the incentive would likely see backpackers not stray far from the cities, ripping out a valuable workforce for agriculture and billions of dollars from regional economies,” he said. “If the 88-day requirement is pulled back … without a realistic alternative, it creates a hole in the workforce that will flow down to food and fibre production.”

Nationals leader David Littleproud said it was important to ensure that regional employers had access to the workforce they needed, with 12,000 working holiday makers choosing to work in the agriculture sector in the second half of last year.

“Backpackers are crucial in not just supporting the farming industry but also our pub and tourism industries,” he said.

Backpacker Agustin Charlone pictured at Sparacino Farms at Peats Ridge in NSW. Picture: Sue Graham

“But all Australians will pay if farmers lose access to workers, they simply cannot farm and when supply goes down, prices go up, so changing the working holiday makers will, in turn, push up food prices and hurt families at the supermarket.”

Australian Hotels Association CEO Stephen Ferguson said he was pleased to see the government had rejected a recommendation in the migration review to cap working holiday visas at one year on the grounds that it would “significantly damage local economies in regional Australia”.

International Education Association of Australia CEO Phil Honeywood said the decision to more than double the fee to apply for a student visa in Australia was a bid to find a new revenue stream, coming just weeks after Labor revealed it would impose a cap on international students.

Group of Eight chief executive Vicki Thomson said the fee hike would act as a “deterrent” for international students to choose to study in Australia, arguing that the increase sent “entirely the wrong message to market”.

A spokesman for Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil said the consultation was ongoing.