Indonesia set to sign up to ag-visa accord

Indonesia is set to become the first country to sign a bilateral agreement with Australia for the newly announced agriculture visa.

Agriculture Minister David Littleproud. Picture: Gary Ramage

Indonesia is set to become the first country to sign a bilateral agreement with Australia for the newly announced agriculture visa, allowing farmers to source foreign workers to fill labour shortages exacerbated by the pandemic.

The Morrison government has prioritised striking bilateral agreements with Southeast Asian nations as part of the scheme.

The Australian understands Indonesia could sign the bilateral agreement for the visa scheme within weeks.

Agriculture Minister David Littleproud said it demonstrated the strength and closeness of the relationship between the two countries and could lead to other countries expediting diplomatic negotiations with Australia.

“Once these countries do sign up, these approved employers and labour hire companies can be ready to go and to actually identify workers immediately,” he said.

Mr Littleproud said the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade had been working with approved employers and labour hire companies that would be able to source workers once the first agreement was finalised.

The scheme will allow fully vaccinated workers to enter Australia to fill labour gaps, but each jurisdiction’s chief health officer would have to give the final tick of approval.

NSW last week became the first state to announce it would scrap hotel and home quarantine for overseas travellers from Nov­ember 1, paving the way for more agriculture workers to enter the country.

The government is also set to introduce legislation to provide a pathway to permanent residency for foreign workers on the scheme, but believes it could be forced to deal with the crossbench to pass the legislation.

“We shouldn’t be afraid to bring the next generation of migrants. That’s what the country is built on,” Mr Littleproud said.

The specialist visa for farm workers was negotiated alongside Australia’s free-trade agreement with Britain, which ended a requirement for British backpackers to work on farms for 88 days if they wanted to stay in Australia for two years.

The Nationals’ support for the deal was contingent on the federal government creating a visa to reduce labour shortages that would be exacerbated by scrapping the requirement.

The Nationals hope the visa will not just replace the 10,000 workers who will be lost but stabilise workforce shortages, estimated to be about 30,000 workers in agriculture industry.

The new visa scheme will be extended beyond horticulture to provide extra workers for meat processing, fisheries and forestry sectors.

It will apply to skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled workers for a three-year period.