- Industry groups warned visa processing delays are slowing migrant arrivals across working holiday, seasonal, and skilled streams.
- Tony Burke’s July direction pushed onshore files first, leaving some workers waiting up to 12 months.
- Farmers say first subclass 462 applications paused for 23 countries is worsening labour shortages before harvest.
The National Farmers’ Federation and a broad industry coalition warned that visa processing delays are slowing migrant arrivals across working holiday, seasonal and offshore skilled streams. The queue is widening. They want the Albanese government to speed decisions. Their allies include the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Tourism & Transport Forum, Accommodation Australia, Citrus Australia, NSW Farmers and Queensland Fruit & Vegetable Growers.
The pressure sharpened after Tony Burke issued a ministerial direction in July 2026 that reordered skilled and employer-sponsored visa processing. Onshore files moved first. In Western Australia, one major builder had 162 Filipino workers waiting on visas, and 72 had been waiting eight months or more. Overseas nurses, teachers and other skilled workers were facing waits of up to 12 months under the new hierarchy. The line is thickening.
At a parliamentary inquiry on 22 August 2026, Australian Computer Society operations director Betsy Gregg said the slowdown was hitting technology hiring.
"slowing down actively in IT"
The files are piling up. Gregg said more than half of the migrant professionals the society processes had not heard back from the federal government. The society handles about 20,000 migrant professionals a year, and more applicants are asking for new skills assessments after earlier ones expired.
Farm groups say the same lag is reaching orchards. The crews are waiting. Rebecca Reardon said on 17 September 2026 that three months for Working Holiday Maker visa processing is "far too long". Farmers are already waiting on workers they have recruited, she said. Citrus Australia joined the warning, saying a "visa go-slow" threatens Australia’s million-tonne citrus harvest. It said it co-signed a letter to Anthony Albanese and Tony Burke two weeks earlier, led by the federation.
Growers say the harvest clock is already running
Queensland Fruit & Vegetable Growers wrote to Burke on 21 August 2026 about slower Working Holiday Maker processing and the uncertainty affecting several partner countries. The department has said Working Holiday visa applications are taking longer than usual and are still being processed, but more slowly. It is not easing.
As of 11 September 2026, first Work and Holiday subclass 462 applications were paused for 23 partner countries. That freeze sat inside a wider slowdown. It cut another route for short-term labour.
