Tourism Council WA: Visa changes risk torpedoing backpacker numbers and leaving bush without workers

Limiting backpackers visiting Australia to a one-year visa would “devastate” international visitation to WA – and cut off businesses in regional towns from a critical source of workers. That is the stark warning from Tourism Council WA chief executive Evan Hall after the Albanese Government flagged a rethink of the country’s Working Holiday Maker program as part of sweeping changes to migration settings. An independent review of the migration system earlier this year recommended binning the current system that allows backpackers to extend their stays in Australia in exchange for working in the bush. In its response to the review, released on Monday, the Commonwealth confirmed it would “undertake a detailed consultation and research process” into the existing visa available to backpackers. That visa – available to more than 40 partner countries – begins at one year but allows working holidaymakers to apply for a 12-month extension if they spend at least 3 months completing “specified work” in regional Australia. Qualifying jobs include agriculture and horticulture, mining, construction and – in northern Australia – tourism and hospitality. A second year-long extension is available for spending a further three months in those roles, meaning backpackers who spend six months in the bush can currently stay for up to three years. Mr Hall said working holidaymakers typically began their visits on the East Coast and often took well over a year to reach WA and that overseas visitation to WA remained 40 per cent down on pre-COVID levels. “A one-year cap would limit backpackers’ ability to travel to WA and work through seasonal tourism towns such as Exmouth, Broome, and Margaret River,” he said. The major rationale for removing the visa extensions was the potential for unscrupulous business owners to take advantage of migrant workers who may not understand their rights. “Worker exploitation hurts backpackers, as well as Australians, and it damages Australia’s international reputation,” the migration strategy released on Monday reads. But Mr Hall insisted the better approach would be to target the industries where exploitation was most likely to occur, which he nominated as horticulture and farming. “Backpackers shouldn’t be forced into jobs in horticulture to stay (in Australia) for more than a year,” he said. “If we can offer longer visas and work in regional tourism, we will attract more backpackers who will have a better holiday experience.” He also questioned the contribution of backpackers to the crippling national housing shortages that have provided the impetus for the Albanese Government’s moves to curb the size of the annual migrant intake. “Capping backpackers to Exmouth during whale shark season does nothing to help manage Melbourne and Sydney’s population problems,” he said. “Backpackers are essential to WA’s tourism workforce, as they are keen to move to tourism towns in peak seasons to work and experience what WA has to offer. “They fill vacancies, serve Western Australians turning up for a holiday and provide respite to operators who would otherwise work for months on end without a break.” In releasing the Commonwealth’s new migration strategy, Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil flagged a crackdown on visa processes for both migrant workers – including backpackers – and international students. ABS figures reveal 51,330 arrivals into WA by temporary student visa holders in the first nine months of 2023 – smashing the previous record of 44,420 over the same period in 2016. Premier Roger Cook said there was “legitimate concern” that some international students were not genuine and instead viewed higher education as a backdoor to gaining work rights in Australia. “We want people who are here on a student visa to be studying and that should be the predominant activity that they undertake while they’re in Australia,” he said. “But at the same time, they also provide an important casual workforce, particularly in the hospitality sector.” “So we acknowledge that there’s a range of issues in relation to this... and I think it’s important that we now adopt a system which is purpose built for our particular economic needs.”