Australia-UK agriculture visa to be extended to ASEAN nations

After more than four years of calls from industry, an agriculture visa has emerged out of the Aus-UK free-trade deal. But it won’t just be open to the UK. Here’s what we know.

A new ag visa will be introduced to residents from the UK and from 10 South East Asian countries. Picture: Zoe Phillips

A new agriculture work visa will be available to the United Kingdom and 10 countries across South East Asia, under a deal struck by the Nationals.

Nationals deputy leader and Agriculture Minister David Littleproud has confirmed the new visa class to The Weekly Times this evening, following the announcement Australia had finalised an in-principle free-trade agreement with the UK.

Part of that deal includes removing the requirement for British working holiday-makers to complete 88 days agriculture work before they can apply for a second-year visa – a move estimated to remove at least 10,000 casual farm workers from the pool and exacerbate the workforce shortages already felt across the horticulture industry.

In its place, Australia would create an agriculture-specific visa for the UK.

Details of how the new visa will work have not yet been made available, however Mr Littleproud confirmed it would be not be limited to the UK.

“The ag visa will be extended to the 10 ASEAN countries, while maintaining the seasonal worker program and Pacific labour scheme,” he said.

“I had to fight hard for this, I promised it and wasn’t going to let it go.”

The ASEAN nations are: Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, Philippines, Myanmar, Malaysia, Laos, Indonesia, Cambodia and Brunei.

The ag industry has been calling for an agriculture visa for more than four years.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison told a National Farmers’ Federation convention in October 2018 his government was committed to introducing the new visa; however, that pledge failed to materialise amid concern it would affect the Pacific Island worker schemes, despite repeated commitments from Mr Littleproud and Nationals leader Michael McCormack.

Speaking in London for the announcement of the Australia-UK deal, Mr Morrison said Australia would now be “moving forward” on an agricultural visa.

“That is something that I’ve had a positive view on for some time, we look forward to that occurring, and that will provide other opportunities when it comes to our agricultural workforce,” he said.