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Immigration Daily News 13 more countries being considered for Working Holiday Visas.
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13 more countries being considered for Working Holiday Visas.
Australia's Working Holiday Maker visa program grew by close to 16% last year with the grant of over 258,000 visas last year. Minister Scott Morrison is looking to expand the program further saying that the program significantly benefits the economy in general and is of particular importance to the hospitality and tourism sectors.
Impressed with the economic benefits backpackers bring to Australia, DIBP Minister Scott Morrison is looking to expand and improve the working holiday visa programme.
Speaking at the Transport and Tourism Forum in Canberra recently, the Minister said he has noted calls from the tourism sector for improvements in the program.
“I am aware that many in the tourism sector would like to see substantial changes to the program. These will be potential considerations for the government going forward. We also anticipate the program will continue to grow, as will the support it provides to both the tourism sector and those sectors which are crucially interrelated,” said the Minister.
DIBP is currently in the process of negotiating new and more liberalised Working Holiday Maker visa arrangements with thirteen new partner countries including Poland, Mexico, Hungary, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Vietnam, San Marino, the Czech Republic, Israel, Latvia, the Slovak Republic and Andorra.
On average, each Working Holiday Maker spends A$13,218 during their stay in Australia. Approximately 71 per cent of this expenditure occurs in the three interrelated areas of tourism, accommodation and transportation.
The Minister noted that Working Holiday Makers generally tend to spend more than they earn, making a small but important contribution to the creation of Australian jobs. For every 100 Working Holiday Makers who arrive in Australia there is a net gain to the Australian economy of 6.3 full time jobs. This means that the 258,000 Working Holiday arrivals in the last financial year generated more than 16,000 additional Australian jobs.
He said that in addition to the substantial funds Working Holiday Makers spend during their stay on tourism related activities, the program also assists the tourism sector with its seasonal labour needs. Around 69 per cent of Working Holiday Makers engage in some form of employment, with research indicating that more than 34 per cent of those who engage in work during their stay in Australia, do so in the area of accommodation and food services.
He however warns that the Working Holiday Maker program is not a proxy pathway to a labour visa. He said, “The employment movement requirements are one of the most important provisions of the scheme and if this aspect of the program were removed, the tourism industry would lose one of its most important visa assets. No one benefits from a young traveller spending two years in Sydney working in a kitchen.”
Comments
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Wednesday, 10 August 2016Do u know that only New Zealand and Australia (not in process yet) offer Workng holiday visa , or Work and holiday visa for Vietnam passport holders? Do you know how competitive we have to face to get this visa? New Zealand offers 100 for quota but around 10000 Vietnamese young asults wanna got it. If u come from a poor country with a desire of getting a chance to travel, study, make money and enjoy a new life in a developed contry, even fora short time, you will find it extremely difficult. We are young adults, with an ambition to go around the world to learn new things, but visa and money is always the biggest problem. Hence, these programs create a wonderful opportunity for us to make our wishes cone true. And what u say, "Intersting that Vietnam and Greece are proposed countries.."!!! Lets be in our shoes, and try to understand others thinking, u can realize what wrong in ur words...
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Thursday, 27 March 2014
Of course Vietnam, we want them to take our boat people, so this is a little carrot!
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Thursday, 27 March 2014
Very interesting figures! If 10% of the 417 holders in the last financial year stayed back in other visas such as 457, they would have taken 25,800 Australian jobs. This will still result in 9800 jobs taken from Australians (16,000 jobs created and 25,800 jobs taken by them). Are they all contributing to the current 6% unemployment rate?
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Friday, 28 March 2014
The 417 is a supposed to be a reciprocal program allowing young Australian to work and travel in countries which are part of the program.
I find it hard to believe that any young Australians will be able to travel to places such as Greece, Spain and Portugal and find paid employment during their travels, considering the high youth unemployment in these counties.
It seems to me that this will be a one way stream to Australia.
The cynic in me wonders if this is a quick fix to try and address the local labour shortages in industries such as hospitality, rather than addressing the excessive red tape associated with the 457 program. -
Monday, 31 March 2014
Hi RTS,
The cynic in you? Bah. I would go one step further. It is not about meeting labour shortages but creating a pool of people without the ability to assert their industrial rights who will undercut wages. This is also the aim of the Subclass 457 program: to undercut wages and undermine militancy. Plus as soon as there is a blip in the economy the selling of Australian education through the Post Study Work visa is going to create a crisis in unemployment for Graduates. You watch.
Immigration blog
Interesting that Vietnam and Greece are proposed countries...