British backpackers skip regional Australia after visa deal
British backpackers are no longer required to do regional work to extend visas, but fewer now travel north to remote areas.
For decades, young Britons arrived in Sydney on working holiday visas and travelled north doing farm and hospitality work to earn 88 days needed to extend their visa. The Australia-UK free trade agreement scrapped that requirement.
Now people can get a second or third visa without the work obligation, and the age limit went from 30 to 35. More than 79,000 British visas were granted in 2024, 25, up almost 70 per cent.
But the old trek north is nearly gone. Mad Monkey Backpackers hosted about 8,000 British guests during boom years but roughly 5,300 this year.
The reason: why leave Sydney and risk not finding work in Cairns? Demand is now strongest in Sydney, where backpackers find jobs and stay put.
Regional farms and tourism operators are struggling to find British workers, replaced by staff from France, Italy and Taiwan.
- 79,000
- Visas granted 2024-25
- 70 per cent
- Year-on-year increase
- 5,300
- Mad Monkey guests this year
- 35
- Age limit raised to
Why it mattersRegional Australian employers who relied on seasonal British workers are now losing that workforce and struggling to fill positions in agriculture and hospitality.
AustraliaRegional farms, hospitality businesses and tourism operators across Australia are losing a traditional source of seasonal workers as British backpackers choose city-based jobs instead.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 8 d ago
