Does your farm or agricultural business need overseas workers to help with seasonal demands? Or are you wanting to come to Australia to do farm work under the Agriculture Visa Melbourne approach? In June 2021, the Government first announced it would introduce a dedicated Agriculture Visa to allow migrants from certain countries to come to Australia, including Melbourne, for agricultural work that cannot be filled locally. The visa is designed to alleviate labour shortages impacting the agricultural industry, which have reportedly worsened during the pandemic. Here’s what you should know about Australia’s Agriculture Visa and how the Government is establishing the visa in various stages.
Plans for an Agriculture Visa
When the Government announced it would introduce an Agriculture Visa, it was intended that the new Visa would be made available to citizens from the UK and 10 countries in the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) region.
Countries in the ASEAN region include:
- Brunei
- Cambodia
- Indonesia
- Laos
- Malaysia
- Myanmar
- Philippines
- Singapore
- Thailand
- Vietnam
The visa would allow workers from the UK and the above countries to come to Australia for agricultural seasonal work for three years, with a need to return home for three months each year. It was reported that further countries could be added to this list after extending the visa to ASEAN countries.
In late 2021, the Government announced further details and clarified that the program would gradually be made available in stages– with only approved employers and a small number of workers permitted to use the program in Phase 1. Here are the details announced about the two phases:
- In Phase 1, a small number of agriculture worker arrivals can enter between December 2021 and March 2022, depending on border settings, country readiness and quarantine availability. This will be open only to a small number of existing Approved Employers who are already accredited and experienced with the existing Pacific Area Labour Mobility (PALM) Scheme. The number of people that can arrive under the visa in Phase 1 is still being considered.
- In Phase 2, from April 2022, the program will open more broadly to employers. There will also be an increase in the number of workers able to participate, and in addition, the number of countries participating will expand.
On 1 October 2021, Agriculture Minister, David Littleproud announced the below details about the new Agriculture Visa:
- The visa will be available to the fisheries, forestry, meat processing and agricultural processing sectors and will target seasonal workers, skilled and semiskilled workers.
- The Government has amended the Migration Regulations 1994with Migration Amendment (Australian Agriculture Workers) Regulations 2021 to allow for a new Agriculture Worker Stream in the Subclass (Temporary Work (International Relations) Visa. The new visa stream came into effect on 30 September 2021.
- The new Agriculture Visa stream will allow overseas workers from countries with a bilateral agreement in place to enter Australia and temporarily stay for work across the primary industries sectors.
- The visa will be operated by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, which is similar to the Pacific Labour Scheme, with operational support from the Department of Home Affairs and the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment.
- The Government will undertake an independent review of the program after two years.
- Workers will be able to move between employers in the agriculture industry.
The Government has stated that the first arrival of workers under the Agriculture Visa will occur in late 2021 – however, this is subject to quarantine arrangements and the finalisation of bilateral agreements with partner countries. The final program design continues to be developed in consultation with the industry.
The Government is also still finalising details such as how to participate in the program as an employer or worker. You may wish to contact us around mid-2022 to discuss options for this visa once further information becomes available.
Given that details will still need to be finalised, the Government intends for the Pacific Labour Program to remain the key pathway to access workers for the 2021/2022 summer peak harvest season and has doubled the number of Pacific workers to come to Australia by March 2022. That means at this stage, the seasonal worker program is only open to workers who are citizens of and residents in Timor-Leste, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu or Vanuatu.
An extra 12,500 workers will be able to work in Australia under the Pacific Labour Program from August 2021 to March 2022.
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What are the next steps for this Visa? | Agriculture Visa Melbourne Updates
Here’s a summary of the next steps and some of the hurdles that could impact the progress of the visa, plus other insights agribusinesses and migrants should know.
The way in which the visa will operate will depend on negotiations with participating countries:
- The Government is finalising bilateral agreements with countries that may have access to the visa.
- Agriculture Minister, David Littleproud has previously suggested the UK and ASEAN nations as target regions for the visa. Grain growers with a need for workers that can operate specialist machinery are hopeful that North America and European countries will also be included.
Another factor impacting the visa program is the ability for overseas workers to access flights and quarantine. According to the Government’s media release in August 2021, logistical matters in making the visa operational may take some time to resolve. It states that ‘full conditions [of the agriculture visa] will be developed and implemented over the next three years as the visa is operationalised’.
Agriculture Visa Melbourne Updates
Many other factors are yet to be confirmed including:
- How closely the new visa could resemble existing Pacific Labour programs
- How many workers can access the visa (the Government has claimed it would use a ‘demand-driven approach’)
- Whether the visa will provide a pathway to Permanent Residence (the Government has said this would be considered, but a decision is yet to be confirmed)
- What visa requirements will apply in relation to age, country of passport, length of stay and costs
- Vaccination status to possibly be used as a condition of entry.
- What measures will be in place to protect visa holders from exploitation – read about current standards here.
What options are available for agribusinesses to engage overseas workers during the pandemic?
Apart from the soon-to-be-established Agriculture Visa, agribusinesses may have access to:
- Options to engage visa holders that are already in Australia, including Melbourne
- Visa holders currently in Australia may be able to extend their stay for agricultural work through the 408 Pandemic Event Visa for a further stay of up to 12 months. Visa holders on a Working Holiday or Work and Holiday Visas may be able to apply for a further visa, and Student Visa holders can currently access a concession to allow them to work for more than 40 hours a fortnight for work in agriculture sector. Other relaxed visa rules were also announced to provide support to agribusinesses during the pandemic.
- Visa sponsorship options may also be available through the TSS Visa and Regional 494 Visa. Visa processing may be prioritised for ‘critical work’.
- Individuals based overseas may be able to independently apply for a Global Talent Visa.
- Securing workers through the Seasonal Worker Programme (SWP) or Pacific Labour Scheme (PLS)are available visa options during the pandemic. This program enables a pool of 24,000 Pacific and Timorese workers to undertake seasonal work in Australia. SWP and PLS visa holders are automatically exempt from travel restrictions to enter Australia and the Government is introducing several reforms to make these programs more flexible.
It is also important to consider that overseas workers coming to Australia, including Melbourne, are facing expensive flights and delays at this time as caps are in place to limit the number of people that can arrive in the country per State/Territory. A quarantine period may also apply.
Agriculture Visa Melbourne Updates | Industry labour shortages
The agriculture industry has been one of the hardest hit by international border restrictions. For many years, the industry has been reliant on migrant workers due to ongoing difficulties in sourcing local Australians for work under these positions.
Farmers have been calling for a dedicated agriculture visa since 2016 and unfortunately, border restrictions have only served to worsen labour shortages and increase pressure on agribusinesses.
It is hoped that the newly established Agriculture Visa will provide some much-needed and immediate relief for Australian farmers. Should you require advice on your business’ visa sponsorship options, we encourage you to contact Interstaff’s Registered Migration Agents to discuss your circumstances.
“Thank you very much for all your effort, hard work, professionalism and your positive approach to our extremely difficult case. Nathan and I will be forever grateful for all your help.”
Nadine, Permanent Residence Visa