T
tayser2
Guest
on yer visa :lol
www.theage.com.au/news/na...08969.html
Backpackers can work their way to a longer stay
By Jewel Topsfield, Canberra
May 4, 2006
Backpackers who work as shearers, butchers, fishers, pearl divers and loggers will be rewarded with the option of spending an extra year in Australia, in a bid to fill desperately needed seasonal labour jobs.
Under the changes, announced by Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone yesterday, backpackers who spend at least three months doing seasonal jobs in the primary industries will be able to apply for a 12-month extension to their working holiday visas.
They will also be able to stay in the same job for six months, rather than the previous three.
The move follows the decision last November to allow working holiday visa holders who spent three months harvesting crops the option of extending their visa to two years.
The National Farmers Federation welcomed the decision to extend the incentive scheme, saying there were large numbers of seasonal jobs in shearing, calving and cattle droving.
"There's a massive shortage of seasonal workers," said workplace relations manager Denita Wawn.
She said the response from backpackers to the changes introduced last year had been "overwhelming". "We saw a definite increase in the number of backpackers doing seasonal fruit-picking work because of the ability of getting an extra 12-month visa."
The National Farmers Federation has also called for a feasibility study into a seasonal worker visa program for Pacific Islanders. The proposal is the subject of a Senate inquiry.
In 2005, 498,000 international backpackers spent an average of $4674 a person in Australia.
Restaurant and Catering Australia welcomed the decision to allow backpackers to work for one employer for six months instead of three. "Our businesses will get a greater return from their investment in training working holidaymakers," said president Con Castrisos.
The working holidaymaker scheme has grown from less than 50,000 people a year in the mid-1990s to more than 104,000 in 2004-05.
:rollin
www.theage.com.au/news/na...08969.html
Backpackers can work their way to a longer stay
By Jewel Topsfield, Canberra
May 4, 2006
Backpackers who work as shearers, butchers, fishers, pearl divers and loggers will be rewarded with the option of spending an extra year in Australia, in a bid to fill desperately needed seasonal labour jobs.
Under the changes, announced by Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone yesterday, backpackers who spend at least three months doing seasonal jobs in the primary industries will be able to apply for a 12-month extension to their working holiday visas.
They will also be able to stay in the same job for six months, rather than the previous three.
The move follows the decision last November to allow working holiday visa holders who spent three months harvesting crops the option of extending their visa to two years.
The National Farmers Federation welcomed the decision to extend the incentive scheme, saying there were large numbers of seasonal jobs in shearing, calving and cattle droving.
"There's a massive shortage of seasonal workers," said workplace relations manager Denita Wawn.
She said the response from backpackers to the changes introduced last year had been "overwhelming". "We saw a definite increase in the number of backpackers doing seasonal fruit-picking work because of the ability of getting an extra 12-month visa."
The National Farmers Federation has also called for a feasibility study into a seasonal worker visa program for Pacific Islanders. The proposal is the subject of a Senate inquiry.
In 2005, 498,000 international backpackers spent an average of $4674 a person in Australia.
Restaurant and Catering Australia welcomed the decision to allow backpackers to work for one employer for six months instead of three. "Our businesses will get a greater return from their investment in training working holidaymakers," said president Con Castrisos.
The working holidaymaker scheme has grown from less than 50,000 people a year in the mid-1990s to more than 104,000 in 2004-05.
:rollin