Canberra Extends Seasonal Worker Visa Scheme

In a rather important development, the Australian administration has reportedly extended the nation’s Seasonal Worker Visa Scheme (subcategory 416) to take in grain, cattle, sheep, and mixed businesses. The declaration to extend the plan arrives in the center of a serious labour famine throughout the nation’s agricultural segment.

The programme in question assists Australian Recruiters/job-providers, powerless to find sufficient local manpower, to fulfill seasonal labour requirements, to take on from Pacific Island nations and Timor-Leste.

The farmers irritated by lethargic, jobless nationals--who are allegedly not ready to soil their hands--have given a round of applause to the decision, which will aid to boost output and income.

Sharing her thoughts with the media, Michaelia Cash, the incumbent Australian Minister for Employment, reportedly stated that the decision to extend the Seasonal Worker Visa Scheme, to include low & untrained workers, will ease the tension on the agricultural business, and assist to conquer seasonal labour scarcities. Still, it will be compulsory that recruiters/job-providers establish decisively that they're not capable to draft candidates using the local resources.

Notably, farmers have blamed the nation’s jobless youth of being lethargic and sluggish. The administration has had to permit the admission of the overseas workers on visas to offer their services in the nation’s grains & stock farms.

Jobless youth have invited harsh disapproval, particularly since youth joblessness has headed north to 20%. Still, farmers are unable to locate local labor force.
 
A wool industry group has issued the warning that the nation was exposed to the threat of losing the conventional expertise of sheep shearing. It claimed that it was offering training to the bare minimum of shearers. Presently, Oz is importing shearers from the nations of New Zealand, Ireland, & Canada, Ireland to assist fill openings during demanding seasonal times.

Recently it was declared that the Seasonal Worker Visa Scheme would be expanded from chiefly work in the horticultural segment to comprise a wider range of agricultural jobs. Under the preceding plan, businesses gained deeply by being able to make use of the fruit pickers from abroad; they were powerless to enlist appropriate people using the local resources.

The latest statistics available illustrates that since July 1, 2012, over 8,600 visas have been given under the programme, assisting over 70 permitted recruiters/job-providers to fill the openings.

Workers from overseas, brought into the nation by the Australian recruiters/job-providers, experience the similar employment relations and place of work health & safety safeguards as native employment hunters.

As per Cash, the scheme has been decidedly successful in aiding Australian businesses triumph over seasonal labour famines. Recruiters/job-providers--in a range of agriculture businesses including sheep, cattle, grain and mixed ventures--will presently be in a position to be a key component of the scheme.