Arabic version: إصلاح التأشيرات يثير مخاوف بشأن عمالة موسم الحصاد

According to ABC News, farmers and agricultural groups fear an overhaul of the Working Holiday Maker visa system could deepen labour shortages during peak harvests and affect Australia’s food security. Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke outlined Labor’s migration policy on Thursday as growers prepare for Christmas fruit harvesting and the summer grain season.

Backpackers seeking another year in Australia currently need to complete 88 days of work in regional or remote areas. Under the proposed changes, visa holders would also need to enter a ballot. Renewed places would be capped at 45,000, compared with 57,000 people who qualified this year, while third-year places would be limited to 5,000, down from 31,000.

Queensland Farmers’ Federation chief executive Kylie Porter said a lottery-style process could be unattractive to visa holders. She said Christmas harvests were intense and relied on that workforce. Agriculture employs more than 250,000 workers annually, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, while foreign workers fill roughly one in seven farm jobs nationally.

Griffith University senior lecturer Kaya Barry said the change would be felt more sharply by smaller, family-run farms, which cannot guarantee work throughout the year. She said workers under the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme could not replace backpackers who can move between short harvest jobs. Citrus Australia head Nathan Hancock also warned that visa processing delays of three to four months were creating pressure as some harvests approached.

The industry welcomed agriculture’s addition to the skilled worker visa list, which Mr Hancock called the “one bright light”. However, he said more detail was needed on which workers would qualify. Berries Australia chief executive Rachel Mackenzie said fewer workers could leave growers unable to pick crops in time or force some to end their seasons early.