Australia’s tourism industry has condemned sweeping changes to the Working Holiday Maker program, warning the cuts will remove tens of thousands of visitors and workers ahead of the peak summer season.
Under the Federal Government’s migration reforms, completing the required regional work will no longer guarantee backpackers a second or third year in Australia. Instead, eligible applicants will enter a ballot for a limited number of places.
Second-year visas will be capped at 45,000, compared with approximately 57,000 issued last year, while just 5,000 third-year places will be available, down from around 31,000.
The Tourism & Transport Forum (TTF) said the changes would reduce available places by at least 38,000 annually and had been introduced without consultation with the tourism sector.
“We called on the Government not to disrupt the visitors and workers our industry depends on. Yet, they’re charging ahead with major changes without previously consulting the people who have to make it work,” TTF CEO Margy Osmond said.
“That is an extraordinary slap in the face for an industry already under pressure.
“This is not a minor adjustment. The Government has taken tens of thousands of potential visitors and workers out of the pipeline.”
The reforms announced by Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke will require Working Holiday Makers to complete specified regional work before entering the ballot for an additional year.
The second-year ballot will be open to travellers who have completed 88 days of eligible regional work, while those seeking a third year must have undertaken six months of specified work during their second visa.
Working Holiday Makers from the United Kingdom will remain exempt from the caps and regional-work requirements under the Australia–UK Free Trade Agreement.
The Federal Government said it would also stabilise Working Holiday Maker visa processing times at three months as part of broader reforms intended to reduce net overseas migration to 245,000 this financial year and 225,000 in 2027–28.
Ms Osmond said a three-month timeframe could effectively lock in the processing slowdown that has already created problems for tourism operators.
“Three months is a long time in a globally competitive environment,” she said.
“We would hope that Working Holiday Makers could access their visas much faster than that, especially when businesses are planning around seasonal demand.”
TTF has also questioned why tourism and hospitality were omitted from the Government’s list of sectors receiving priority visa processing.
Healthcare, construction, education, law enforcement, defence, resources, agriculture, aquaculture and fishing were identified as priority sectors, despite tourism and hospitality continuing to experience worker shortages.
“Tourism has been through the ringer. Our operators have been fighting their way through the fuel crisis, higher costs and a brutal operating environment,” Ms Osmond said.
Working Holiday Makers are particularly important to regional Australia, where they help fill seasonal positions while spending money on accommodation, dining, transport, tours and other tourism services.
Tourism Research Australia figures show Working Holiday Makers spent approximately $1.1 billion in regional Australia last year and another $3.3 billion in the nation’s capital cities.
Research also indicates 88 per cent would consider returning to Australia after their initial stay, including 66 per cent who described themselves as extremely likely to return.
“These travellers are not just numbers on a spreadsheet,” Ms Osmond said.
“These visitors are sleeping in our hotels, eating in our restaurants, taking our tours, travelling through our regions and keeping tourism businesses staffed in areas where there are genuine worker shortages.”
TTF had previously warned that processing delays and uncertainty surrounding the Working Holiday Maker program were putting tourism businesses, regional economies and future visitor demand at risk.
Ms Osmond said the latest changes could also damage Australia’s reputation among young international travellers.
“These visitors have choices in what is a fiercely competitive global environment. If we make Australia harder to choose, they will choose somewhere else,” she said.
“And when they spend their money somewhere else, Australian tourism businesses pay the price.”
