Surge in Working Holiday Visas Drives Australia‘s Migration Numbers
Australia is experiencing record numbers of working holiday visas being granted, largely fueled by increased uptake from British citizens taking advantage of expanded visa conditions. This influx is contributing to the ongoing debate surrounding Australia’s migration levels, as the Coalition challenges the Labor government over consistently exceeding its migration forecasts.
Home Affairs Minister Tony burke has responded by calling on Opposition Leader Sussan Ley to detail specific areas where she would implement cuts to migration numbers, emphasizing the complex impact of any policy changes. “You’re not in a proper policy conversation until you start to say: OK,which visa class? Which category? Because everything you change has an impact,” Burke stated.
Ley has indicated a desire to reduce immigration, echoing a pledge made by former Coalition leader Peter Dutton to cut net migration by 100,000 people beyond Labor’s targets. She identified working holidaymakers as one area for potential consideration, alongside skilled visas, family reunions, humanitarian intake, and international students.
However, limiting the number of working holidaymakers could prove contentious, especially for Nationals MPs representing regional areas heavily reliant on this workforce.
Data indicates a meaningful rise in working holiday visa grants this year,driven by global economic factors. Matthew Hayes,founder of Backpacker Job board,noted Australia has ”just set a new record for visa grants,and the first quarter suggests we will go even higher,” attributing the surge to factors like cost of living pressures and stagnant wages in other countries motivating young people to seek opportunities in Australia.
A key driver of this increase is the third-year visa option for working holidaymakers, introduced by the previous Morrison government. Almost 34,000 of these visas were issued in the last financial year, a ample increase from approximately 7,500 the year prior.
Former Immigration Department deputy secretary Abul Rizvi explained the policy’s impact. “demand was inevitably going to be strong when we made it more generous,as we did. Australia is popular among Brits, and this is the first year we’ve seen the full effect of the agreement initially negotiated by scott morrison.” He anticipates the program will eventually peak, dependent on the strength of both the Australian and UK labour markets.
Rizvi believes working holidaymakers will continue to significantly contribute to net migration as long as current facilitative policies remain in place, a factor both major parties must consider when setting migration targets.
He suggests the most readily implementable change to curb the impact of working holidaymakers on net migration would be to withdraw the third visa option, except for British citizens. This visa was introduced unilaterally by the Coalition without prior negotiation with other countries, making its removal simpler.Such a change, rizvi argues, would likely have a rapid effect on migration numbers by encouraging more working holidaymakers to return home sooner. Any broader changes would require renegotiation with the 50 countries with which Australia has working holiday arrangements, a potentially arduous undertaking.
