AU: Working visa conditions leading to less farm volunteers

A farmer in North Queensland is renewing calls for the Federal Government to consider reversing legislation allowing volunteer workers from overseas to extend their working holidays in Australia.

The changes announced in the 2014 budget significantly affect people on the international Willing Workers on Organic Farms ("WWOOF") program. It no longer allows them to count time volunteered on farms in return for material support such as free board and food, towards the 88 days required to gain a second Work and Holiday Visa. Since August 2015, workers now have to supply official payslips, in order to be eligible for the extension.

Bruce Hill, who manages a tropical fruit plantation in the Burdekin region, says the changes were overshadowed by the larger Backpacker Tax issue, which occurred at the same time. But this has been just as big of a hit to his, and other, small enterprise farms.

"In places where you can't afford an extra farm hand, these people come and willingly help and they have a work experience which they cannot get anywhere else," he said. "We used to have 2-3 WWOOFers to help out, as we cannot afford full-fledged farmhands – even if we could find them. People are no longer interested in getting into agriculture."

While the legislation has not stopped the program, it has significantly reduced the number of participants. WWOOF Australia says numbers grew consistently through word of mouth from 150 in 1981-82, to around 12,000 in 2013-14. Then after these changes were announced, along with the backpacker tax, it more than halved to around 5,000 overnight. Today there are around 3,600 and just under 2,000 hosts. 

"It has seen the WWOOF office, as well as many of our hosts, struggling to find WWOOFers" Vera Di Campli said. "The change in the rules for volunteers has had a huge impact on our resources with a 60 per cent drop in WWOOFers and a 22 per cent drop in Hosts, we have shed three staff members and remaining staff are working reduced hours. Less people talking about WWOOFing means less people joining - a vicious cycle. It will take a concerted effort to bring these numbers back up again."

Mr Hill says it has created uncertainty, with backpackers needing to hope day by day that they will find work; this has taken away from the holiday and sightseeing part of their trip.

"All it has done is make it more difficult to get the second year and taken away a fabulous opportunity for backpackers to really get to know Australia," Mr Hill said. "If you talk to backpackers, most of them live in backpacker hostels which have connections with farmers seeking workers. They stay for at least 90 days, eight or more to a room, all backpackers similarly motivated to get their ‘88 days’. If they can get work they rarely have a chance to see Australians. On the other hand living with a family as a WWOOFer enables these young people to get involved in the local community, gives them a sense of security, a sense of participating in a worthwhile team activity."

Carly and Ben, from Newcastle, UK, who are both 28 and working with Mr Hill, decided they wanted to meet local people while travelling around Australia. They have found WWOOFing the ideal way to do this – they have had a chance to experience in depth a cultural environment quite different to the one they have at home.

In 2015, the WWOOF Australia organisation presented a petition with more than 5,500 signatures to the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, Peter Dutton’s office, as well as a number of other local Members of Parliament, opposing the legislative changes.

The Department of Immigration and Border Protection says it is committed to addressing the exploitation of foreign workers, adding Working Holiday Makers are subject to the same workplace laws, entitlements and protections as any other Australian worker.

"This was implemented to ensure that these visa holders do not enter into exploitative, and potentially unlawful, workplace arrangements to qualify for a second Work and Holiday Maker visa," a spokesperson for the department said. "It’s important to note that farming enterprises are able to employ working holiday maker visa holders on a voluntary basis – it's just that the time spent working voluntarily won’t count as eligible work for a second visa."

Mr Hill admits that there had been a few well publicised rorts related to the WWOOFer scheme, but he says there would be far more rorts with other visas. He wants the Government to look at ways of protecting workers, while still allowing access to “willing volunteer” workers.

“If there hasn’t been a strong sign of anger in the community over the proposed changes I suspect that it would be because the farmers most affected are small, stoic operators, with none or a few employees, who are not accustomed to protesting when they are negatively affected by government measures,” Mr Hill said.

Despite continued pressure on the Government, WWOOF Australia says there is no indication that the rule excluding volunteers from counting their days for second Working Holiday visa extensions will change.

"In the past 18 months or so, we’ve had many phone calls and emails from our hosts, especially the farmers, who are wondering whether they are still members, and where all the WWOOFers have gone," Ms Di Campli said said. "They’re as disappointed, if not more so, than we are."

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