Backpacker Visa Ballot and Farm Labour: A Simple Guide to Australia's New Working Holiday Rules
News · 2026-09-25 · 4 min read
Farms in Australia need many short-term workers to pick fruit such as mangoes and berries. This week, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke announced big changes to the Working Holiday Maker visa program. Now the farming industry is worried about a difficult Christmas harvest. If you are thinking about a working holiday visa, or you run a farm that hires these workers, it is a good time to understand what is changing and the reasons behind it.
No more automatic second year
Before this change, the rule was clear. Backpackers who finished 88 days of regional or remote work could expect to qualify for a second-year visa extension. That is no longer certain. In the new system, second-year visas will be given out through a ballot. The number of places will also fall from 57,000 to 45,000.
Third-year visas will be cut even more. They will go down from 31,000 spots to only 5,000.
Many farm owners plan their harvest around workers who come back each season. Moving from a system where you earn your place to one where you enter a draw makes planning much harder. Industry groups warn that backpackers may choose other countries where their visa feels more secure.
Long waits before the news
The new policy arrives while there is already a delay. Before the announcement, visa applications from 24 of 29 eligible countries had been put on hold. Processing times also grew from just a few days to about three months. In some regions, the citrus and berry harvest will start within weeks. This delay alone could leave growers without enough workers, whatever happens with the ballot.
Family farms face the biggest challenge
The changes will not hit every farm in the same way. Dr Kaya Barry is a researcher at Griffith University. She studies seasonal migration in Queensland agriculture. She explains that big farms usually get their workers from the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme. This is a different pathway with more structure.
Smaller family-run farms are in a different position. They often do not have work all year round. For a long time, these farms have relied on backpackers to fill their seasonal gaps.
PALM and backpackers are not the same
This difference is important for anyone who helps employers plan their workforce. PALM is not a direct replacement. PALM workers usually join longer, more organised placements. Working holiday makers are popular because they can move easily. They are happy to follow the harvest from one region to another in just a few weeks.
Good news: farming on the skilled visa list
There is one change that people feel hopeful about. Agriculture is being added to Australia's skilled worker visa list. Put simply, agriculture joins the skilled visa list. Industry bodies like this decision, but they are asking the government for more details. They want to know if horticulture roles will be included, and what qualification levels might be needed. Until those details are released, employers cannot plan around this change with full confidence.
Tips for the seasons ahead
If you hope to come as a working holiday maker, the message is simple. You can no longer treat a second or third-year visa as almost guaranteed. In a ballot system, doing your regional work early and keeping good records of it will matter more than before.
For farm employers, it is now urgent to find workers in more than one way. This can mean looking at PALM scheme partnerships, following the skilled visa details as they appear, and allowing more time for visa processing. This is no longer something to plan for later. It needs attention now.
For readers in Indonesia, it is also smart to prepare early. Make an English-language CV that lists your farm or outdoor work experience clearly. Check whether your visa needs an English test, and get Indonesian-language documents translated into English if the rules require it.
The skilled visa pathway is still being worked out. Anyone who cares about Australia's regional workforce, including people looking for jobs in Australia for Indonesians, should keep following this news closely.
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