In 2016, the Fair Work Ombudsman undertook an inquiry into Australia’s backpacker visa scheme, which noted that “many backpackers are being subjected to underpayment or non-payment, unlawful deductions, sexual harassment, unsafe working conditions and other forms of exploitation”.
The Senate’s scathing report, entitled A National Disgrace: The Exploitation of Temporary Work Visa Holders, also documented the abuses of Australia’s Working Holiday Maker visas system, which was “consistently reported to suffer widespread exploitation in the Australian workforce”.
With this background in mind, it is curious to read that the Morrison Government will expand the backpacker visa system to provide farmers with more cheap labour. From The Courier Mail:
THOUSANDS more backpackers are expected to arrive in Australia to pick fruit and tend animals under a Federal Government plan to fill critical worker shortages on farms.
Pacific Islanders doing seasonal work will also be allowed to stay up to three months longer… Annual working holiday visa caps will be lifted, the age limit raised to 35 for some countries, and backpackers will be able to triple the length of their stay in Australia if they agree to an extra six months’ agricultural work.
…backpackers will no longer need to leave jobs every six months and also will be permitted to stay with the same employer for up to a year…
“Australians filling Australian jobs is my No.1 priority but when this isn’t possible we need to ensure our farmers aren’t left high and dry with rotting crops, especially in the strawberry industry,” Mr Morrison said.
At present, there is no labour marking testing before farmers can hire a backpacker. Current backpacker visa arrangements also require no preference whatsoever for local workers.
Given the documented abuses, Australia’s working holiday visa scheme is one policy makers should be trying to fix or shrink, rather than expand.
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