Backpackers can stay longer if they help rebuild fire-hit farms
BACKPACKERS in Australia on working holiday visas may now be able to stay longer if they help out on farms affected by the bushfires.
Previously these visas let people work in the same place for six months but that’s been upped to 12.
Australia’s acting minister for immigration says the new rules are about getting “as many boots on the ground as they need”.
And the new rules have been introduced with immediate effect.
“These hard-working Australians have been hit by the recent bushfires, but from today they can employ backpackers for six months longer, helping them at a critical time in the recovery effort,” said Alan Tudge.
“It means working holiday makers can help rebuild homes, fences and farms, they can get on to properties and help with demolition, land clearing, and repairing dams, roads and railways.”
Australia often burns during its bushfire season, but its most recent summer was one of the most extreme ever.
A state of emergency was declared last November and there was no substantial rain until this month, when fires in New South
Wales were put out – but it also brought floods to some parts of Australia.
The immigration minister’s new rules will not only affect how long backpackers can stay in one place in their first year, it will also help them apply for a visa to spend a second year in Australia.
Previously this only applied to people doing paid work in regional areas, which Mr Tudge estimates one-third of backpackers in Australia already do.
He also told radio station 2GB that construction work would now count towards backpackers extending their stay.
“They’re very practical measures just to get more people on the ground right now, because we need all hands on deck,” the minister said.
He added: “Backpackers tend to earn the money, then go and spend it in a very short amount of time in those local areas as well, so they’re great for local communities on a number of fronts.”
Simon Birmingham, Australia’s minister for trade, tourism and investment, says getting more holiday makers into these communities is essential to “help protect local jobs and keep local businesses alive”.