The Morrison government will loosen restrictions on two schemes that bring temporary farm workers into Australia, after months of pressure from the farming lobby and warnings fruit would rot on trees unless a labour solution was found.
The move comes as Prime Minister Scott Morrison begins a tour of Queensland this week.
While the Farmer’s Federation and the Nationals had been calling for a new agricultural visa, the government will instead loosen restrictions on two existing visas: the working backpacker visa and the Pacific islander scheme.
"Australians filling Australian jobs is my number one priority, but when this isn't possible we need to ensure our farmers aren't left high and dry with rotting crops, especially in the strawberry industry,” Mr Morrison told News Corp on Monday.
The age cap on backpackers will be lifted to 35 for some countries, the PM told a Queensland newspaper. Backpackers will also be able to stay with the one employer for up to a year, rather than six months.
The seasonal worker program allows a limited list of employers to bring in workers from Timor Leste, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
The workers are currently allowed to stay for up to six months – or nine months for those from Nauru, Kiribati and Tuvalu.
The changes will reportedly increase the cap to nine months for all countries, and cut the costs for employers in the scheme. Employers will only have to pay $300 towards the worker’s travel costs, instead of the current $500.
The seasonal work scheme has not been without controversy, with SBS News revealing more than a dozen Pacific islanders have died on Australian farms over the past six years.
The prime minister is expected to announce the changes on a Queensland farm on Monday.
SBS News has contacted the office of Immigration Minister David Coleman for more information.
READ MORE
【您申请对了吗？】打工与度假签证462 vs 打工度假签证417
