The New Australian Agriculture Visa: A Quick Guide

Everything you need to know about the new Australian Agriculture Visa 2021

An important part of running a farm – especially larger operations – is understanding the ever-changing legislation governing farm work in Australia. Most recently, an announcement earlier this year about the creation of a new Australian Agriculture Visa 2021 has created a stir about immigration laws and implications for employers and workers alike - especially the thousands of overseas workers required for fruit picking jobs in Queensland, NSW and Victoria.

Navigating legal documents can be tricky, so his article aims to answer some of the most pressing questions you may have about the visa, and what it means for the future of the Australian agricultural industry.

When was the new Australian Agriculture Visa announced?

On August 23, the creation of the new Australian Agricultural Visa was announced via a joint media press release between Deputy PM and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, and Regional Development Barnaby Joyce, Minister for Agriculture David Littleproud, and Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs Alex Hawke.

Why was the new Australian Agriculture Visa created?

According to the press release, the the new Australian Agriculture Visa was created to “respond to workforce shortages in the agricultural and primary industry sectors.” These changes follow adjustments to the Working Holiday Maker program that occurred as a result of the UK-Australia Free Trade Agreement.

The new Australian Agriculture Visa is intended to build upon the existing Seasonal Worker Programme (SWP) and the Pacific Labour Scheme (PLS). How it will do so is currently unclear, though more information is meant to be released later this year.

Who is the new Australian Agriculture Visa for?

According to a fact-sheet by the Department of Foreign Affairs, the new Australian Agriculture Visa is intended to be available to workers across the agriculture, fisheries, and forestry sectors. It targets skilled, semi-skilled, and low-skilled workers across these three sectors, including those in meat processing.

Further details about particular occupations will be specified as consultation with the industry continues.

What are the main features of the new Australian Agriculture Visa?

The new Australian Agriculture Visa:

• Is employer-sponsored
• Allows workers to move between employers
• Allows workers to apply for permanent residency, including regional settlement
• Provides the same rights and protections as all other workers, regardless of citizenship status.

More details about how the new Australian Agriculture Visa is to be structured, and how some of these features will be implemented, will be announced as the program becomes operational. The federal government recommends checking the official visa page to stay up to date on announcements.

How does the new Australian Agriculture Visa affect me?

If you’re a farm owner currently experiencing the worst effects of the labour shortage, the new Australian Agriculture Visa aims to help. By creating a visa with a broad scope that allows mobility between employers, workers should be able to meet the demand across the agricultural, fishery, and forestry sectors.

Farmers or agribusinesses that are part of the selected Approved Employers will be able to recruit workers through the visa program.

Ben Rogers, workplace relations and legal affairs manager at the National Farmers’ Federation (NFF), says the new Australian Agriculture Visa has been built from previous visa subclasses and aims to guarantee supply of workers to smaller family farms that did not previously have the capacity to sponsor workers through SWP or PLS.

What if I’m already involved with the Seasonal Worker Programme or the Pacific Labour Scheme?

Littleproud says the new Australian Agriculture Visa will not replace existing labour schemes with Pacific nations: “It will complement the Pacific programmes we have got in place, which had been critical in supporting our primary industries to date.”

It is also important to note that much of the workers’ protection regulations are stated to be modelled after the Pacific programme, so whether this visa will genuinely complement the existing programmes is yet to be seen.

Farmers should expect to continue recruiting workers for the upcoming peak harvest period through both SWP and PLS, which has been brought together as the Pacific Australian Labour Mobility (PALM) Scheme.

Who will manage the new Australian Agriculture Visa programme?

The new Australian Agriculture Visa programme will be managed by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, while the Department of Home Affairs will process visa applications and work with the Australian Border Force “to ensure visa integrity.”

What are other concerns people have raised about the new Australian Agriculture Visa?

A major concern that has been raised is that the new Australian Agriculture Visa will undermine Australia’s positive relationships with countries in the Pacific, particularly Timor-Leste. The visa could be interpreted as a short-term political fix, with long-term detrimental impacts.

Another critical issue is that the new Australian Agriculture Visa will insufficiently protect migrant workers, who are already unprotected under the PALM Scheme. In an interview with The Guardian, immigration advisor Abul Rizvi points out that the protections of the Pacific Labour Scheme have been rolled back despite the fact that at least 22 people have died on that visa.

The new Australian Agriculture Visa could also lay the groundwork for further exploitation of low-skill workers in any sector, not just agriculture. From hospitality to tourism and construction, anywhere with the demand for low-skill workers would be able to exploit workers through a similar type of visa. While the government promises paths to residency, information about this has been very vague, which many have flagged as a major problem.  

When will more information on the new Australian Agriculture Visa be released?

More information is meant to be released later this year as the government finalises bilateral agreements with neighbouring countries and consultations with industry experts reach a conclusion. Look out for more press releases, and continue checking the official visa page for further details.