New agriculture visa set to bring more migrants to work in Australia

2021.10.05

A new agriculture visa is set to bring more migrants to fill chronic labour shortages on Australian farms from November, with workers from South-East Asian countries to be prioritised.

The federal government announced the visa’s formal go-ahead on Thursday, which had been foreshadowed by Agriculture Minister David Littleproud.

The full conditions of the visa are still being finalised in consultation with the sector, but are expected to include potential pathways to permanent residency, including regional resettlement.

The first phase of the visa will see a small cohort of agriculture workers arriving in Australia between November and March 2022.

More workers would enter Australia with the new visa during the second phase, which would begin in April next year.

Mr Littleproud said negotiations around bilateral agreements with countries in the region were underway.

“The Ag Visa will be the biggest structural change to the agricultural workforce in our nation’s history,” he said.

“It will be open to applicants from a range of countries and we are already in talks with a number of countries in our region who are eager to participate.”

The government has committed to prioritising bilateral deals with countries through the Association of South-East Asian Nations, which include Thailand, Cambodia, Brunei, Myanmar, Philippines, Malaysia, Laos, Vietnam, Singapore and Indonesia.

Read more here.

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