Targeting working holiday makers makes no sense

Industry associations are a unique bunch. Usually made up of competing members who work together for the common good of vital sectors of our economy.

Peak organisations can sometimes compete with each other for funding and government support, and often jockey for recognition in the media.

The latest print edition of AccomNews is out now. Read it HERE

So it takes something big, an existential threat almost, to bring a group of competitors together.

And that issue is migration.  More specifically the recently announced Federal Government changes to skilled migration and Working Holiday Maker Visas.

The Federal Government’s recent move to restrict Working Holiday Makers numbers and continue twelve-month delays to process skilled visas, drew across the board condemnation.

Accommodation Australia (AA) joined with the Australian Hotels Association, (AHA) The Tourism & Transport Forum (TTF) and the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) to urge the Government to re-think its plans.

It’s been a while since this many members of the acronym alphabet have been singing from the same song sheet, and it is a sign of just how much damage this policy can do.

Targeting working holiday makers makes no logical sense. They are a motivated and mobile workforce who help fill seasonal work—especially in the regions.

And the lottery idea for second-and-third year working holiday makers will create skewed outcomes, especially in the third year, when only one in six can win a ticket.

Related AccomNews article: Visa changes will worsen jobs and skills shortages

This will just stop people undertaking six months remote work in their second year and it will distort the supply of essential workers in remote and regional Australia.

When it comes to skilled visas, we are concerned the Government’s changes further de-prioritises our sector, which is already suffering from a chronic skills shortage.

It is ridiculous a skilled occupation like a chef can take up to 12 months to process when there are 7,000 chef and cook vacancies in Australia right now.

What’s lost in all this talk about migration numbers is that fundamentally Australia as a nation has a huge workforce challenge.

The hotel industry in particular relies on migration.

Chronic workforce and skills shortages mean we simply cannot fill all the vacancies locally now—and it’s only going to get worse.

It will now be harder for hotels to access the workers we need and the changes will increase competition in an already tight labour market.

Working Holiday Makers are highly valued workers.

They play a critical role for hotels which rely heavily on seasonal and temporary workers, particularly during peak periods when local labour supply just cannot meet demand. Restricting the flow of these workers will cripple hotels ahead of the peak summer season, because when you take those workers out of the system, something has to give.

For accommodation businesses that means more pressure on existing staff.

Hotels will have to limit what they can offer, namely rooms or opening times, and eventually knock-back much needed business.

When hotels are understaffed they are simply unable to take advantage of periods when demand is strongest.

Visitor numbers in Australia only returned to pre-COVID levels in February, and as soon as they reached that number then they were immediately hit by external forces.

Conflict in the middle east, inflation, fuel costs, falling traveller confidence and the rising cost of living are already creating enough issues for our industry.

Related AccomNews story: Addressing the chef shortage

We should be making it easier for accommodation businesses to say yes to more visitors, not putting another roadblock in the way.

We all know Australia has a world-class tourism product but that means nothing if we don’t have the workforce to deliver it. WHMs are not just critical to addressing workforce shortages, they also drive significant visitor spending across the country. They spent $4.4 billion in Australia last year—not just in our capital cities but across regional areas.

These are high-value international visitors who are not just filling workforce gaps but are booking accommodation, eating out, taking tours and travelling around the country.

And we have spent years trying to attract these young travellers in a highly competitive global environment.

Each day we slow the arrival of Working Holiday Makers, we put more pressure on businesses already struggling to find workers and risk sending valuable visitor spending elsewhere.

What we stand to lose is far greater than the cost of a visa.

If we make it harder for these travellers to choose Australia they will simply choose somewhere else to go.

Balancing migration numbers with the needs of our own population is an important and at times difficult task. But limiting backpackers is not going to resolve housing, crime, welfare rorts or any of the other problems some Australians have attributed to over-migration.

Not many backpackers own a house or apartment!

We are not asking for a free-for-all on Working Holiday Makers. We just want a common-sense, evidence-based program business can properly plan around.