Backpacker visa changes remove guarantee of second year, hurting farm labour
Second-year visas drop from 57,000 to 45,000. Backpackers now enter a lottery instead of getting automatic renewal.
Australia's working holiday visa rules are changing in the next 12 months. Backpackers say this removes their main reason to do difficult regional work.
Previously, completing 88 days of rural work guaranteed a second-year visa. Now they must enter a ballot with no guarantee.
Second-year visas drop from 57,000 this year to 45,000 next year. Third-year visas fall from 31,000 to just 5,000.
Without guaranteed extension, backpackers say it makes no sense to endure poor conditions on farms and in vineyards. Agricultural workers say they will choose cities instead.
Wine and cherry growers warn the change could be harmful during spring and summer harvests, when backpackers do most of the work.
- 88 days
- Required regional work days
- 57,000
- Second-year visas this year
- 45,000
- Second-year visas next year
- From 31,000 to 5,000
- Third-year visas reduction
Why it mattersAustralia's agriculture sector relies on backpacker labour for seasonal harvests. Losing them could reduce food output and drive up costs.
AustraliaNSW and other states face potential shortages of farm workers during critical harvest seasons, threatening fresh produce supply and prices this summer.
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