Conduct of the Inquiry
1.1
On Thursday 19 June 2020, the Acting Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs, the Hon Alan Tudge MP, asked the Joint Standing Committee on Migration to inquire into and report on the Working Holiday Maker (WHM) program.
1.2
The terms of reference for the inquiry were to have particular regard to:
The purpose of the program including history, size, composition, eligibility, and reciprocal access for Australians and recent changes;
The value of the program to Australia's economy, including tourism, health care and agriculture sectors;
The ongoing impact of COVID-19 nationally and internationally on the program;
The potential economic impacts on regional economies due to the disruptions of access to Working Holiday Makers relied upon especially for the agricultural and tourism sectors; and the capacity, if any, for Australians made unemployed by COVID-19 to fill the labour shortage;
The extent to which existing visa criteria and conditions related to Working Holiday Makers are still adequate and appropriate to address the purpose of this program, including cultural exchange and creating job opportunities for Australians;
The extent to which the program can support economic recovery in regional Australia; and
Any other related matters.
1.3
The Committee invited an array of stakeholders, groups and individuals to submit to the inquiry, including relevant federal government departments, peak bodies, academics and industry groups. The Committee received 89 submissions during the course of the inquiry.
1.4
The Committee also received just under 1000 emails from potential and current working holiday makers outlining their individual situation to the Committee. The Committee chose not to publish these emails as they contained personal information about these individuals but would like to reassure these individuals that the impact on COVID-19 on their situations was considered by the Committee in their deliberations. Recommendations dealing with issues raised by the WMHs were made in the Interim Report.
1.5
The Committee took evidence from a large and diverse range of organisations and individuals at twelve public hearings held via teleconference and video conference over the course of the inquiry.
Interim Report
1.6
The focus of the terms of reference for this inquiry was, in part, on the economic impact of the disruption of access to WHMs caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
1.7
The terms of reference also included a range of other matters relating to the WHM program including the value of the program to Australia’s economy and the suitability of the existing visa criteria.
1.8
Given the significant evidence the Committee heard around critical labour shortages created by the closed borders, the contribution of the WHM program to industries and the fact that the harvest season was imminent, the Committee decided to make its preliminary thinking public as it had already taken evidence from an extensive range of stakeholders.
1.9
The Interim Report of the Inquiry into the Working Holiday Maker Program (Interim Report) was tabled in the Parliament on 14 September 2020.
1.10
The Interim Report made the following recommendations:
Recommendation 1: the Committee recommends that the Government urgently develop and implement a ‘Have a Gap Year at Home Campaign’ to attract young Australians, particularly the current cohort of Year 12s and university graduates, to undertake regional work. The campaign should:
Appeal to young Australians’ patriotism and their sense of adventure, enabling them to see their own country and earn money;
Appeal to young people who had planned to take a year off to travel and work overseas;
Provide young people with work and work experience opportunities at a time when there are fewer casual jobs available to young people; and
Give consideration to a HECS/HELP discount for undertaking this work.
Recommendation 2: the Committee recommends that for the next 12 months, the Government enable workers to stay on JobSeeker payments while undertaking low paid agricultural and horticultural work.
Recommendation 3: the Committee recommends that for the next 12 months the Government establish a one-off payment to help with the travel and accommodation costs incurred, to be paid after a certain period of time working in regional, rural and remote areas.
Recommendation 4: the Committee recommends the following amendments be made for the next 12 months to the conditions attached to the Working Holiday Maker visa:
Enable Working Holiday Makers who have undertaken work in key industries in all peri-urban, regional, rural or remote areas, to count their work towards qualifying for a second and/or third year visa.
Allow Working Holiday Makers who have transitioned onto the subclass 408 visa to count essential work undertaken on the 408 visa to support any application to qualify for second and/or third year Working Holiday Maker visas.
Extend the Northern Australia provision, allowing work in hospitality, tourism and other industries to apply in all regional, rural and remote areas.
Enable all Working Holiday Makers to work for the same employer for more than six months, if they are in peri-urban, regional, rural and remote parts of Australia to provide more certainty for visa holders and employers.
Recognise the importance for Working Holiday Makers to move across state borders, particularly between locations where there are high labour force needs and no COVID-19 cases, and facilitate appropriate exemptions and permits subject to approval by health authorities.
Provide further financial and other incentives to encourage Working Holiday Makers who have completed their time in agriculture to stay and engage in more agricultural work.
Recommendation 5: in regard to temporary amendments to other temporary visa categories, the Committee recommends that for the next 12 months the Government:
Incentivise international student graduates to stay in Australia after completing their studies, by offering an additional year or two for graduates eligible for a subclass 485 Temporary Graduate visa who undertake work in critical industries in peri-urban, regional, rural and remote parts of Australia.
Make available incentive payments or support for transport and accommodation costs to international students who undertake work in peri-urban, regional, rural and remote parts of Australia during non-teaching period.
Enable people on other temporary work visas, such as the subclass 482 Temporary Skill Shortage visa, who have lost their jobs, to work in critical industries in the absence of a specific employer sponsor.
Consider any work students or subclass 482 Temporary Skill Shortage visa holders do in critical industries as counting towards the extension of visas, or where applicable as counting towards a pathway to permanent residency.
Recommendation 6: the Committee recommends that the Government review the necessity for the measures in recommendations 2, 3, 4 and 5 after 12 months.
Recommendation 7: in order to facilitate the restarting of the Working Holiday Maker program and maintain the reputation of the program overseas, the Committee recommends that the Government:
Enable current Working Holiday Maker visa holders who have had to leave the country, or were unable to enter the country and make use of their visas, to reapply for either the 417 or 462 subclass visas, paying a nominal fee with priority processing times.
Extend age limits for current visa holders, if they have exceeded the age limits of 30 or 35 years, while waiting to use their visas. This should also be extended to those who were already granted visas so they can re-enter the country despite exceeding the age limits.
Consider granting visas on a country by country basis as borders start to reopen, prioritising countries where there are lower levels of COVID-19 infection rates. Alternatively, consider prioritising countries where Working Holiday Makers usually undertake work in Australia for which there is the greatest need.
Consider a sponsorship program requiring peak bodies, businesses or governments to help sponsor quarantine arrangements, or alternatively reimburse the costs of quarantine incurred by Working Holiday Makers after a certain period working in jobs where shortages exist.
Recommendation 8: the Committee recommends the establishment of a hotline for Working Holiday Makers where they can access all the advice they need regarding their work rights, workplace exploitation concerns, accommodation and employment options in one place.
Recommendation 9: the Committee recommends that Australians, Working Holiday Makers, and other temporary visa holders be made more aware of the Harvest Trail to enable the service to be better utilised and to facilitate the matching of willing workers to the areas where the need is greatest.
Recommendation 10: the Committee recommends that the Federal Government work with State and Territory governments and industry peak bodies to recruit additional people under the Seasonal Worker Program and Pacific Labour Scheme to fill urgent agricultural shortfalls.
1.11
The Committee notes that the Federal Government made the following announcements to address the agricultural labour shortages in line with recommendations in the Interim Report:
The Government announced it is investing $33.7 million to support farmers by encouraging and incentivising Australians to take a ‘domestic gap year’ to work in the agriculture sector this harvest season.
The 2020 Budget includes $16.3 million in temporary Youth Allowance and ABSTUDY eligibility changes to incentivise people to take up seasonal farm work this summer.
The Australian Government also announced $17.4 million in relocation support allowances of up to $6,000 for Australians and up to $2,000 for visa holders with general work rights is available, from 1 November 2020, to help people relocate to regional areas undertake short-term agricultural work.
The National Agricultural Workers’ Code has been developed to provide for COVID-safe travel between states – five of eight Australian jurisdictions have implemented the code except for Queensland, Western Australia and Tasmania.
The Government announced that Working Holiday Maker visa holders who have been unable to come to Australia or who had to leave Australia early due to COVID-19 will be eligible for a Visa Application Charge waiver, when they decide to return to Australia.
The Government announced a further $9 million investment in the Seasonal Worker Programme to ensure employers can meet critical seasonal labour needs.
Structure of the report
1.12
The final report builds on the Interim Report. The report is structured in the following manner.
1.13
Chapter 2 provides a background on the WHM Program including its history, governance, economic and cultural benefits to Australia and the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the program.
1.14
Chapter 3 examines longer term changes to the WHM program to expand the program and ensure that the WHM visa conditions are not preventing WHMs filling job vacancies in hard to staff areas. The report also considers whether there should be a tiered definition of regional for the purpose of the WHM visas.
1.15
Chapter 4 considers issues raised by the Interim Report such as the implementation of the recommendations of the report, issues of workplace exploitation and the use of additional temporary visa holders to do work in the agricultural and horticultural industries.