Farm community splits over backpacker visa

Working holiday visa reforms, Chinese fast-track visas and Home Affairs' $4.9m sheet of paper.

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One month ago, significant changes were made to the backpacker visa subclasses 417 (think UK, French and some Asian backpackers) and 462 (more developing nations, capped in number). More countries were added and a third year of work was made available to visa holders.

On top of this, David Coleman’s office flagged on Tuesday that it wanted to expand the scheme to 13 more countries.

This week’s first story cited in-principle support from the National Farmers’ Federation but also concerns from experts about the expansion.

That prompted a response across radio, Australian media and the international press.
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Yesterday Emma Germano from the Victorian Farmers’ Federation emerged as a critic of the expansion, and emphasised the need for a specific visa for agricultural workers.

It’s a compelling immigration debate, particularly given the popularity of the backpacker visa has been waning. Interest from backpackers from the UK, Taiwan, South Korea and Hong Kong on the 417 has dropped considerably in the past five years.

However, in the same period the 462 program has grown to almost make up for the 417 decline. The changes in July, plus the mooted expansion, are likely to continue this trend. That means the farm sector may become increasingly reliant on workers from less developed countries.

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