Australia offers a pathway to PR for migrant farmworkers

Charnamat Singh, a farmer from Victoria, says that retaining his regular employees to keep his farm running is his biggest challenge. To retain his employees, Mr Singh says that he pays them higher than other places. 

However, he feels that paying extra is not the solution. He also says that most migrant workers do not want to work on farms. They would much rather work in a low-skilled job in the city which pays them lesser than work in the farms. Working on farms is pretty tough. Every time a worker quits, it is a huge weight on Mr Singh’s time and expense. He not only has to recruit new workers but also train them, which incurs him huge costs. 

Farmers in Australia struggling with recruiting and retaining farmworkers have been asking for a standalone Agriculture Visa. Even though Australia has not introduced any such Visa, it has taken measures to make it easier for farmers. 

The Australian Govt. has announced a new horticulture labour agreement a few days back. The new agreement will help Australian farmers hire low-skilled and skilled foreign workers, where Australian workers are not available. 

The new horticulture labour agreement will become effective from 1st January 2020. The agreement will also provide concession in minimum salary and English language requirement to eligible foreign workers. 

Employers in the horticulture industry would be able to sponsor foreign workers in 31 eligible occupations under the new labour agreement. 

Senator McKenzie, Agriculture Minister, says that the new labour agreement will help address the desperate need for workers in regional Australia. The horticulture industry is well-developed in Australia and to keep growing, it needs a skilled workforce. 

The most motivating factor about this agreement, besides the low English and salary requirement, is that it offers a pathway to Permanent Residency. The charm of an Australian PR can be a huge incentive for migrant farmworkers to stick to their jobs in the farms. 

Under the new horticulture labour agreement, employers can sponsor foreign workers up to 50 years of age. Also, the English requirement has been lowered to just a score of 5 on IELTS. 

Y-Axis offers a wide range of visa services and products for aspiring overseas immigrants including Australia General Skilled Migration Program via RMA, Australia Skilled Regional Visa, Australia Temporary Skilled Work Visa, and Australia Temporary Graduate Visa Subclass 485. We work with Registered Migration Agents in Australia.   

If you are looking to Visit, Study, Work, Invest or Migrate to Australia, talk to Y-Axis, the World’s No.1 Immigration & Visa Consultant.   

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Australia announces horticulture labour agreement with 31 occupations