Arabic version: شركات كوينزلاند تحذّر من خفض تأشيرات العطلات والعمل
According to The Guardian, regional Queensland businesses fear proposed limits on second- and third-year working holiday visas could deepen labour shortages in tourism and other local industries. The federal home affairs minister, Tony Burke, announced plans to cap second-year visa holders at 45,000, down from 57,000, and third-year holders at 5,000, compared with about 31,000 issued currently.
The proposed system would require applicants to enter a ballot for places, while holidaymakers from the United Kingdom would remain exempt from regional-work requirements. Sydney Schetter, a Canadian barista who arrived in Australia in 2019, said repeated extensions linked to her regional Queensland work allowed her to travel, learn a trade and meet her Australian partner. She said she might not have applied for a second year under the proposed rules.
Townsville employers say working holidaymakers are a major part of their workforce. A Townsville chamber of commerce survey found about 70% of local businesses employed at least 10 visa holders, accounting for more than 60% of their staff headcount. Bart Furst, a director of the Kickon Group, said the Watermark hotel could employ 40 to 60 working holiday visa holders among its 120 staff and warned businesses could have to reduce hours if workers stayed away.
Queensland premier David Crisafulli has called the policy “nuts”, while Townsville LNP MP Adam Baillie said visa holders were central to the north Queensland economy. Cairns state MP Michael Healy said the changes could slow the city’s growth. Federal Labor MP Matt Smith said a delegation of local business leaders would meet Burke, arguing the workforce should be directed to areas of need.
Burke said the policy would reduce net overseas migration to about 225,000 in 2027-28 from 292,000 and better target Australia’s needs. Australian Bureau of Statistics figures cited by The Guardian show about 78,300 working holidaymakers arrived in 2024-25, with about 206,000 in the country at the last count.
