Key agricultural sectors will soon be able to employ foreigners through a new agricultural visa announced by the Federal Government.
The new Australian Agriculture visa will be in place by the end of next month, however it’s not known when the first people using it will start, and where they will come from.
The new visa will enable workers to enter Australia and work across the agriculture and primary industry sectors, including meat processing, forestry and fisheries.
The visa has long been coveted by ag-industry bodies given the ongoing labour crisis affecting the sector following the ongoing border constraints inflicted by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as recent changes to the Working Holiday Maker program.
In a statement jointly released by Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce, Agriculture Minister David Littleproud, Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Immigration Minister Alex Hawke, the government says the visa will be open to many countries with parameters negotiated over the coming weeks.
“The Australian Agriculture visa will be open to applicants from a range of countries negotiated through bilateral agreements,” the statement says.
“Full conditions will be developed and implemented over the next three years as the visa is operationalised.
“During this implementation period we will work to achieve a demand-driven approach and consider permanent residency pathways and regional settlement.”
Despite its ambiguity, the announcement of the visa has been welcomed by the National Farmers Federation (NFF), which says the visa will provide ‘real long-form workforce relief to Australian farmers’.
“This is a significant step towards solving the farm sector’s enduring workforce crisis with a bespoke visa designed to meet the industry’s many and varied skill needs,” NFF President Fiona Simson says.
“There will be a sigh of relief from farmers from the very northern tip of our country to those in the most southerly parts of Tasmania.
“The start date is extremely good news for farmers across the nation who are right now struggling to know how they will harvest, pick and pack this year’s crop.”