The Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC) has welcomed the Opposition’s proposal to incentivise Working Holiday Makers (WHMs) to live and work in regional Australia, particularly its recognition of the important workforce needs of regional tourism and hospitality.
ATEC also welcomed the Opposition’s commitment to reverse the proposed ballot and caps on second and third-year WHM visas, while calling for greater detail on how increased visa fees and exemptions for those working in regional Australia would operate in practice.
ATEC managing director Peter Shelley said encouraging WHMs into regional communities was a positive policy direction and appeared to offer a more targeted approach than significantly reducing access to second and third-year visas.
“We welcome the recognition that Working Holiday Makers bring real value to regional Australia and that tourism and hospitality are among the industries which rely on this important workforce,” Shelley said.
“Using incentives to encourage regional dispersal is a positive approach and one that deserves serious consideration as Australia looks at the future settings for the WHM programme.”
Shelley said any serious reform of the WHM programme should also address incentives within the programme as a whole.
“If regional dispersal is an objective of WHM policy, we need to ensure the incentives are actually driving as many working holiday makers as possible to visit, spend money and work in the regional communities that need them.”
Shelley said ATEC would continue its discussions with government and is keen to engage with the Opposition and other parties on their proposals “to ensure the final policy settings deliver the strongest possible outcome for Australia’s visitor economy”.
The Australian government and the Federal Opposition have proposed contrasting changes to the Working Holiday Maker (WHM) program as part of broader efforts to manage net overseas migration. The Labor government is targeting demand-driven temporary visas to lower overall migration, with second-year WHM visas proposed to be capped at 45,000, and third-year visas at 5,000. Existing regional work criteria (such as 88 days) remain part of the framework, but entry into the extension years becomes subject to limited ballot places.
