Authorities still working to get ag visa workers into Australia
Negotiations with Vietnam to secure a small number of workers are ongoing, after Labor canned the former government’s ag visa scheme.
The finer details of an agreement to allow 1000 workers into Australia under a defunct worker visa put on ice by Labor a year ago are still being ironed out.
The Agriculture Visa was canned soon after last year’s federal election, except for an
existing agreement with Vietnam that current Agriculture Minister Murray Watt promised would be honoured.
To date, no workers have arrived on the former Coalition government’s ag visa.
However, a Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesman said Australia continued to work with Vietnam to amend the memorandum of understanding the two nations signed in March last year to finalise arrangements.
“Implementation arrangements – including for example worker recruitment processes, worker eligibility requirements, employer obligations related to worker welfare support, and requirements for preparing workers for life in Australia – were not agreed with Vietnam prior to the May 2022 election, and are currently under negotiation,” he said.
A commencement date cannot be set until negotiations conclude.
The ag visa was specifically designed to fill agriculture’s workforce shortage by allowing farmers to recruit workers with the right skills at the right time.
National Farmers’ Federation chief executive Tony Mahar told The Weekly Times that local farm businesses still needed “a dedicated visa for agriculture”.
“The reality is we do not have a migration stream designed for agriculture and that’s what our industry desperately needs,” Mr Mahar said.
Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong revealed other ASEAN countries had expressed interest in the Ag Visa but were told it was off the table.
The Labor government’s focus appears to be on attracting workers through the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme.
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