Industry calls on federal government to provide clarity on changes to key source of labour
Industry bodies from across Australia’s horticulture sector have raised alarm over changes to the country’s Working Holiday Maker (WHM) programme.
According to the bodies, the recent changes to the Working Holiday Maker programme have seen Working Holiday (subclass 417) visas processed more slowly, while applications for Work and Holiday (subclass 462) visas have been paused for 24 partner countries.
WHMs play a key role in filling the temporary jobs required across critical harvest periods, particularly in the Australian summer.
Bodies including the National Farmers’ Federation (NFF), Queensland Fruit & Vegetable Growers (QFVG), Cherry Growers Australia (CGA) and Citrus Australia called for greater clarity on the changes and for the government to ensure that horticulture’s specific workforce needs are met.
QFVG CEO Scott Kompo-Harms said Working Holiday Makers were an important part of the horticulture workforce and that growers needed certainty about access to workers ahead of critical harvest periods.
“Horticulture is a seasonal industry, and growers need access to workers when crops are ready to be harvested,” Kompo-Harms said.
“We are calling on the federal government to recognise the important role Working Holiday Makers play in horticulture and ensure growers have the certainty they need to plan for harvest.
“You can’t put a crop on hold while you wait for a workforce to arrive. If workers aren’t available when they’re needed, the consequences can flow through the entire supply chain.”
Queensland’s horticulture industry supported 44,846 jobs across the supply chain in 2024/25, with up to 16,860 temporary full-time equivalent jobs becoming available each month during peak harvesting periods.
CGA CEO Penny Measham said workforce certainty is essential for an industry that operates within one of the most compressed harvest windows in Australian agriculture.
“Unlike many industries, cherry growers have very little flexibility. In some growing regions, the entire harvest can be compressed into as little as four weeks. When fruit reaches maturity, it must be harvested immediately. There is no opportunity to pause, wait for workers to arrive, or extend harvest timelines,” Measham said.
Citrus Australia CEO Nathan Hancock said Working Holiday Makers make up around 44 per cent of horticulture’s peak harvest workforce and they were at the heart of Australia’s food security, at home and abroad. He said the coordinated response from the sector proved how important this issue was.
“Working Holiday Makers do essential work where a genuine and persistent labour market failure exists,” Hancock said. “The visa’s specified work provisions exist for exactly this reason – to direct labour to the regions and industries where Australians cannot be attracted in sufficient numbers.”
