The agriculture situation is becoming a dire topic for both Australians and the Federal and State governments alike. Compounded by the bush fires of early 2020 and COVID-19, the Australian agriculture industry is facing an unprecedented situation and a bleak if not uncertain future.
The major issue the agriculture industry is facing today is the lack of quality experienced labour. While COVID-19 in particular has drawn out the bulk of seasonal workers from the backpacker industry, this has only exacerbated a long known issue in that Australia does not have enough workers in this field to satisfy the demand of the industry.
The effects of this imbalance are long reaching. Due to the lack of pickers, harvest rates are at an all-time low. Fresh food prices have increased and will further increase for domestic consumers. This rise also forces its way into export, which is making it increasingly difficult for Australian exporters to be competitive in the market. The fact of the matter is, there is a fresh food crisis coming and action must be taken to ensure the future of this industry is safe.
As is well known the Australian agricultural workforce is heavily supplemented by temporary visa holders from the ‘working holiday’ (subclass 417) visa program and the ‘work and holiday’ (subclass 462) visa program. In order for visa holders to be eligible for their second working holiday visa they are required to do a minimum of 88 days farm work. Putting it into perspective, between the months of July 1st and December 31st – 2019, there was 15,851 second working holiday (subclass 417) visas lodged and 3,409 second work and holiday (subclass 462) visas lodged. 78.5% of 417 applicants and 53.2% of 462 holders indicated they did Agricultural work to gain eligibility. This collectively is 14,256 workers, at a minimum of 88 days in regional farm work or approximately 1.25 million days worth of labour for visas lodged a 6 month period and double when we consider a yearly projection. This is not including 3rd year working holiday statistics which as a new program is just taking off, adding to this number.
With the devastating effects of COVID-19 still in full swing on Australian migration and importantly, these temporary visa holders, how is this industry going to recover? There are some tough decisions ahead for our politicians in ensuring the right strategy is in place to help support this industry back to a place of strength.
We strongly believe that the solution will be found in international labour, where experienced and qualified workers can be sourced to help satisfy the demand in this fragile industry. The implementation of an international initiative can be an important step to recovery. We will comment more on this shortly, but in the mean time what are your thoughts?
Australia faces a new challenge, a fresh food crisis.
The agriculture situation is becoming a dire topic for both Australians and the Federal and State governments alike. Compounded by the bush fires of early 2020 and COVID-19, the Australian agriculture industry is facing an unprecedented situation and a bleak if not uncertain future.
The major issue the agriculture industry is facing today is the lack of quality experienced labour. While COVID-19 in particular has drawn out the bulk of seasonal workers from the backpacker industry, this has only exacerbated a long known issue in that Australia does not have enough workers in this field to satisfy the demand of the industry.
The effects of this imbalance are long reaching. Due to the lack of pickers, harvest rates are at an all-time low. Fresh food prices have increased and will further increase for domestic consumers. This rise also forces its way into export, which is making it increasingly difficult for Australian exporters to be competitive in the market. The fact of the matter is, there is a fresh food crisis coming and action must be taken to ensure the future of this industry is safe.
As is well known the Australian agricultural workforce is heavily supplemented by temporary visa holders from the ‘working holiday’ (subclass 417) visa program and the ‘work and holiday’ (subclass 462) visa program. In order for visa holders to be eligible for their second working holiday visa they are required to do a minimum of 88 days farm work. Putting it into perspective, between the months of July 1st and December 31st – 2019, there was 15,851 second working holiday (subclass 417) visas lodged and 3,409 second work and holiday (subclass 462) visas lodged. 78.5% of 417 applicants and 53.2% of 462 holders indicated they did Agricultural work to gain eligibility. This collectively is 14,256 workers, at a minimum of 88 days in regional farm work or approximately 1.25 million days worth of labour for visas lodged a 6 month period and double when we consider a yearly projection. This is not including 3rd year working holiday statistics which as a new program is just taking off, adding to this number.
With the devastating effects of COVID-19 still in full swing on Australian migration and importantly, these temporary visa holders, how is this industry going to recover? There are some tough decisions ahead for our politicians in ensuring the right strategy is in place to help support this industry back to a place of strength.
We strongly believe that the solution will be found in international labour, where experienced and qualified workers can be sourced to help satisfy the demand in this fragile industry. The implementation of an international initiative can be an important step to recovery. We will comment more on this shortly, but in the mean time what are your thoughts?
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