Horticulture calls on Burke to act as Working Holiday Maker visa processing slows

Queensland Fruit & Vegetable Growers is calling on Federal Immigration Minister Tony Burke to act on delays and uncertainty affecting the Working Holiday Maker visa program.

QFVG wrote to Minister Burke on 21 August 2026 to express our concerns about recent developments affecting the Working Holiday Maker (WHM) program, including slower visa processing and uncertainty affecting applications from a number of partner countries.

It may not seem like these are sizeable changes to the program, but to paraphrase an old saying – a butterfly flaps its wings in Canberra and it causes multiple cyclones all across Queensland. The worst thing about these changes is that they are opaque and have unintended consequences.

QFVG CEO Scott Kompo-Harms said Working Holiday Makers were an important part of the horticulture workforce and that growers needed certainty about access to workers ahead of critical harvest periods.

“Horticulture is a seasonal industry, and growers need access to workers when crops are ready to be harvested,” Mr Kompo-Harms said.

“We are calling on the Federal Government to recognise the important role Working Holiday Makers play in horticulture and ensure growers have the certainty they need to plan for harvest.

“You can't put a crop on hold while you wait for a workforce to arrive. If workers aren't available when they're needed, the consequences can flow through the entire supply chain.”

Queensland's horticulture industry is a significant contributor to the state's economy, producing an estimated $4.61 billion in farm-gate value in 2024–25 and supporting 44,846 jobs across the supply chain.

The industry's seasonal nature creates significant additional demand for labour, with up to 16,860 temporary full-time equivalent jobs becoming available each month during peak harvesting periods.

Recent workforce data released by FNQ Growers highlights just how much labour demand can change across the year, with horticultural employment in the region increasing through spring and summer as harvesting activity ramps up, before easing during the cooler months.

The data also found that different horticulture businesses rely on different workforce models, with larger operations more likely to directly employ workers through programs such as PALM, while smaller growers often use labour hire providers alongside local workers and Working Holiday Makers.

Mr Kompo-Harms said workforce policy needed to recognise the specific seasonal workforce requirements of horticulture.

“Horticulture should not be caught in the crossfire of a broader debate about migration numbers,” he said.

“Working Holiday Makers are temporary workers who come to Australia to travel and work, and they play a very different role to permanent migration.

“Reducing access to seasonal workers will not address housing or infrastructure pressures in our cities, but it can have a significant impact on horticulture and the regional communities that rely on it.

“The effects are also felt beyond the farm gate, with Working Holiday Makers contributing to local businesses, tourism and hospitality in the communities where they live and work.

“We support a workforce system that provides appropriate protections for workers, but the system also needs to recognise the genuine seasonal workforce requirements of horticulture.”

Mr Kompo-Harms said the issue ultimately came back to ensuring Australians continued to have access to fresh, locally grown food.

“Queensland growers are producing the fruit, vegetables and nuts Australians expect to see on supermarket shelves every day,” he said.

“With around 25 per cent of Australia’s fresh produce grown in Queensland, having the right people available to harvest that food at the right time is a fundamental part of making sure it gets to consumers.”

Mr Kompo-Harms said the Federal Government had an opportunity to provide growers with certainty.

“We need the Federal Government to act now to restore certainty to the Working Holiday Maker program and ensure growers can access the workers they need when crops are ready to harvest,” he said.

“Working Holiday Makers are an important part of the horticulture workforce. We need a system that works for horticulture and gives growers the certainty they need to keep producing fresh food for Australians.”