Australian Immigration News

Working Holiday Visa Changes Could Boost Australia's Economy

Research initiated by the Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC) has found that changes to the Working Holiday Visa (WHV) guidelines could boost annual GDP by up to AUD$700 million over 10 years and help fill the regional labour shortages.

The ATEC has been advocating for changes to the Australian Working Holiday Visa requirements to have the tourism industry included in the 'regional' classification of work experience which would allow working holiday makers to extend their visa by 12 months if they worked in the industry for a minimum of 88 days. Current data shows that of those who complete this required period of regional work, 95 percent actually extend their stay in Australia.

According to ATEC Managing Director Felicia Mariani, ATEC's analysis shows that adjusting the eligibility settings for the Working Holiday Visa brings significant economic benefits that would extend throughout Australia to many sectors of the economy. "This measure alone is expected to deliver over AUD$28 million annually in additional GDP," she stated.

If implemented, this change would likely result in an increase on the AUD$2.3 billion already being spent by working holiday makers in Australia, particularly in regional areas that need this boost the most. Working Holiday makers also bring much needed labour supply to regional Australia where the pressure to attract workers into tourism businesses threatens their viability.

The study shows that there are 162,000 working holiday visas issued each year in Australia. "Every hundred travellers arriving under this visa category creates 6.3 full time equivalent jobs in Australia's wider economy. With current visitor numbers under the WHM program, this would equate to almost 11,000 FTE jobs in Australia".

ATEC is working on a position paper to present to the Australian government that recommendes changes to the Working Holiday and Work and Holiday visas which include:

• To include the 'Tourism and hospitality' industry as a regional industry, qualifying work in the industry for the 12 month extension program for a second working holiday visa;
• To reduce or hold costs and financial requirements of applying for a visa under the working holiday program constant;
• To increase the qualifying age range from 18 to 30 up to 35 in line with other countries;
• To permit multiple visa applications, one between 18-25 years of age and a second between 26 – 30/35 years of age.

If you are interested in Australian visas, contact Migration Expert for information and advice on which visa is best suited to you. You can also try our visa eligibility assessment to see if you are eligible to apply for a visa to Australia.