OPINION: A change to the backpacker visa could affect the availability of workers in regional and rural Australia.
As an agricultural market analyst, I spend a lot of time exploring big-picture topics. That could be anything from the impact of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine to drought in the Midwestern US. Sometimes, smaller and unexpected factors can have an impact on agricultural profitability.
Trade deals or scuffles between countries is an area of particular interest. These can have a huge material impact: such as the barley and wine tariffs into China or our free trade deal with the UK.
In the latter, a seemingly small portion of the trade agreement will have huge ramifications for Australian agriculture and the profitability of farmers.
I’m talking about backpackers. Let me explain.
I am a Scottish-born Australian. I would have loved the opportunity to be a backpacker, but I arrived in Australia in 2010 as a skilled migrant and was working in a white-collar job.
The backpacker visa has allowed young people from all over the world to travel and experience this vast and beautiful country. The visa gives backpackers the ability to live and work in Australia for 12 months, after which they have to leave the country. However, they can stay if they undertake a stint working in a regional area for three months.
This three months of work allows the backpacker to extend their visa for another 12 months.
This desire to stay in the sun has been useful for regional areas, which for decades have had declining populations. In towns across the country, backpackers have been an important source of workers during harvest time, from wheat to sugar.
It has meant that many travellers, including British citizens, were effectively forced to consider a stint in the bush if they wanted to stay and avoid returning to the dreary grey streets of the UK. This is no longer the case.
Since July 1 2024, British backpackers no longer need to complete the three months of rural work to stay in Australia for an additional year.
This change to the legislation was part of the UK-Australia free trade agreement, which was signed by the Morrison government. The FTA will benefit some of our agricultural trade, but this preferential treatment for British backpackers will significantly affect agriculture.
Britain is a significant source of backpackers to Australia. On average, 20 per cent of backpackers in Australia are British, and in recent years this number has climbed as high as 28 per cent.
These backpackers now have a choice: work in the city, enjoy the beach on the weekend, or head into rural areas to find work. Many will choose to work in the countryside, especially those from farms in the UK, but these are likely to be a minority.
We need migration to the cities but also to the country. Modern Australia is country of immigrants and has been reliant on this inflow of people to grow. The result is a unique, multicultural environment in the cities and regional areas.
This has especially been the case in rural areas during the past decade as the composition of overseas-born Australians becomes less Anglocentric.
The backpacker visa has been relied on for a long time, but a permanent solution is required after the removal of the rural stint requirements from all visitors.
One solution could be in the form of agricultural visas, which provide a gateway to permanent residency. This would allow farmers or agribusinesses to attract highly skilled workers from around the world.
At present, though, it’s a hard task to convince a young man or woman to go to remote Australia instead of heading to the beach to party.
• Andrew Whitelaw is co-founder and director of Episode 3 (EP3)
