Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke announced a proposed ballot for working-holiday makers seeking to extend their stay, with successful applicants required to complete regional work. The system would cover second- and third-year extensions.
Burke outlined the changes on September 17, 2026. They form part of a broader package intended to reduce net overseas arrivals by 75,000 a year.
He said backpackers should not be exempt from cuts aimed at reducing net overseas migration. The Department of Home Affairs had also used an administrative “go-slow” on applications to suppress high migration figures, he said.
“Drastic cuts, wherever you make them, hurt the economy in every part, in every area. Anyone who wants to pretend there's only an economic cost in the regions does not understand the Australian economy”
The proposal has drawn warnings from farm and tourism groups ahead of peak operating periods. The National Farmers' Federation says any change should follow urgent consultation.
Its president, Hamish McIntyre, said visa processing could stretch to three months instead of days, with harvest underway in parts of Queensland and the main season approaching. Chief executive Mike Guerin warned of higher food prices and emptier supermarket shelves.
Labor Senator Anthony Chisholm said projected worker numbers remain above pre-pandemic levels, and the government is still talking with industry. A Canberra roundtable during the week of October 11, 2026, brought together sectors including agriculture, aged care, tourism and hospitality. Industry groups called the meeting a “good start” and said they hoped for useful outcomes.
The proposed caps would cut extension places
| Stay sought | Qualified in 2026 | Proposed cap |
|---|---|---|
| Second year | 57,000 | 45,000 |
| Third year | 31,000 | 5,000 |
The two limits represent a cut of more than 40 per cent and about 38,000 fewer second- and third-year visa holders than in 2026. Federal Member for Parkes Jamie Chaffey said about one in five applicants would miss out on a second year, and five in six on a third.
The National Farmers' Federation has called for a return to regular processing. It says the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme cannot meet every grower's workforce needs.
Growers warn harvests could be left short-handed
The Northern Territory government estimates the Top End mango season could face a shortage of 1,000 workers. NT Agriculture Minister Gerard Maley said the harvest needs about 3,500 workers, and a shortfall could leave close to a million trays unpicked.
Maley said about 70 per cent of the crop could be lost, costing up to $27 million for a $128 million industry. The Northern Territory supplies about 50 per cent of the national crop. Mangoes are also grown in Queensland, Western Australia and northern New South Wales, with harvest running from September to December.
“This isn't just a number on a spreadsheet, it's fruit left rotting on trees, income lost by growers, fewer jobs in regional communities and less economic activity flowing through the territory.”
NT Opposition Leader Selena Uibo urged federal Labor to grant the territory a carve-out. She said the government would show “a complete lack of regard for the Northern Territory” if it did not.
In Bundaberg, Bree Watson, chief executive of Bundaberg Fruit & Vegetable Growers, warned that a 40 per cent drop in working-holiday makers would harm the region. The Wide Bay Burnett Horticulture Economic Report 2024–25 recorded more than $1.386 billion in Gross Regional Product and $958.5 million in horticultural farm-gate value.
The report counted more than 2,000 farms growing over 40 crops, supporting 4,392 direct jobs and 12,548 seasonal jobs. It also recorded $127.2 million in wages and superannuation and $60.8 million in government revenue.
Tina McPherson, of Bundaberg strawberry and macadamia business Tinaberries, said backpackers had been vital to the operation for two decades. She warned that waiting for workers before harvest carried real consequences.
Tasmanian apple growers also fear reduced access to seasonal workers could leave apples, cherries and berries unpicked. They say local recruitment does not cover peak demand, and are seeking targeted exemptions for farm workers. Lower volumes and higher operating costs, they warn, could raise retail fruit prices.
Tourism groups forecast regional spending and job losses
The Australian Tourism Industry Council estimates the selection system could mean 65,300 fewer backpackers travelling, working and spending in regional areas, a 70 per cent reduction. Chief executive Erin McLeod put potential lost visitor spending at $1.65 billion and said 11,000 regional jobs could be at risk.
McLeod said uncertainty could discourage backpackers from travelling regionally, even as tourism operators face seasonal staffing pressures. Western Australia's tourism lobby estimated the state could lose 4,500 peak-season backpackers, at least $62 million in tourism spending and 425 tourism jobs.
The Coalition proposes a separate agriculture visa
Federal Member for Hinkler David Batt said the government “appears to be targeting the workers regional Australia needs, to cover for Labor's uncontrolled migration disaster”. Chaffey said broadacre farmers and harvesting contractors rely on experienced returning workers from the United Kingdom and Canada, who know the machinery and seasonal demands.
Shadow Agriculture Minister Darren Chester said growers could not be sure experienced workers would return. He said Agriculture Minister Julie Collins would be “forced to clean up another mess” and vowed the Coalition would scrap the proposed system and establish an “agriculture visa”.
The Coalition's backpacker proposal would remove extension caps, raise fees for longer stays and exempt regional workers. Opposition leader Angus Taylor has also defended a wider migration plan, promising a cut of 100,000 in net migration each year and 650,000 in total migration over four years. The plan would reduce temporary visa numbers, abolish temporary graduate visas and restrict family members.
Farm safety concerns reach beyond this harvest
Esperance farmer Mic Fels said a slowdown in backpacker visa applications that began last month had left some farms without enough seasonal workers. He welcomed assurances that skilled agricultural applications would be prioritised, but said a rapid flow of applicants could give farmers breathing room.
Fels warned that staffing shortages could push farms toward unsafe work around heavy machinery. He pointed to the period after COVID, when he said farm death rates doubled as inexperienced workers entered farms.
“These are massive machines with thousands of moving parts. You wouldn't put inexperienced operators on a dump truck on a mine site and say, 'Go for your life', and that's what they're effectively saying”
Trevor Dunmall, chief executive of Australian Mangoes, said the effect on this year's harvest remained uncertain. He said growers were particularly concerned about 2027, when the industry will again need workers ready to pick fruit as it ripens.
