Ballots, Fewer Places and Farm Gaps: Australia's Working Holiday Changes in Plain Terms
News · 2026-09-25 · 3 min read
A tight Christmas harvest is on the cards for Australian farms. This week, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke announced sweeping changes to the Working Holiday Maker visa program, and the industry that relies on short-term, mobile workers to pick everything from mangoes to berries is worried about the timing. Whether you hope to hold one of these visas or you employ people who do, here is what is changing and why.
88 Days No Longer Buys a Second Year
Until now, a backpacker who finished 88 days of regional or remote work could count on qualifying for a second-year extension. That certainty is going. Second-year visas will now be handed out by ballot, and the number of places drops from 57,000 to 45,000. Third-year visas are cut even harder, from 31,000 places to just 5,000.
Many growers planned their harvests around a steady flow of returning workers. Moving from earning a place to entering a draw adds real uncertainty, and industry groups warn that backpackers may head for countries where their visa is more secure.
The Squeeze Falls on Family Farms
The pain will not be shared evenly. Dr Kaya Barry, a Griffith University researcher who studies seasonal migration in Queensland agriculture, notes that big farms usually staff up through the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme, a separate and more structured pathway. It is the smaller family farms, with no year-round work to offer, that have leant on backpackers to fill seasonal gaps.
That matters for workforce planning. PALM is not a straight swap. Its workers usually come for longer, more structured placements. Working holiday makers have always been valued for being mobile, ready to follow a harvest trail from region to region within a few weeks.
A Queue That Was Already Long
These changes land on top of an existing backlog. Before the announcement, applications from 24 of 29 eligible countries had already been paused, and processing had stretched from a few days to roughly three months. In some regions, citrus and berry harvests open within weeks, so that delay alone could leave growers short of hands whatever the ballot delivers.
Some Good News on the Skilled List
One change has been met with cautious optimism: agriculture joins the skilled visa list, as it is being added to Australia's skilled worker visa list. Industry bodies want the detail, especially whether horticulture roles will be covered and what qualification thresholds may apply. Until that is known, employers cannot plan around it with confidence.
For South Africans with farm, machinery or horticulture experience, this is the part to track. Trades are usually assessed again in Australia, so keep certified copies of your certificates and references close at hand.
Next Steps for Workers and Growers
If you are planning a working holiday, accept that a second or third year is no longer close to a sure thing. In a ballot system, getting your regional work done early and keeping good records of it matters more than ever. For farm employers, spreading recruitment wider is now urgent, not optional: look at PALM scheme partnerships, follow the skilled visa detail as it appears, and allow longer lead times for visa processing.
Until the skilled pathway is fleshed out, anyone with a stake in Australia's regional workforce should keep watching this space.
#working holiday maker visa #australia working holiday visa changes #backpacker visa australia #australia agriculture visa #working holiday visa ballot #second year working holiday visa #farm labour shortage australia #australia skilled worker visa list #palm scheme australia #regional work visa australia #australia visa processing delays #seasonal farm workers australia #tony burke immigration policy #australia food security workforce #horticulture visa australia