The NFF Horticulture Council has welcomed recent work by ABARES that provides a better view of the workforce challenges in horticulture. Bright spots include findings that fewer businesses are struggling to find workers and that employment numbers overall are up. The findings do need to be considered in their proper context, with the baseline being the years during the COVID-19 pandemic when labor challenges were particularly acute.
We have benefitted greatly from the relaxation of controls that had stopped the movement of workers between countries. What this highlights is the critical role that backpackers, in particular, play in meeting these shortfalls – at a time when the future of the working holidaymaker program is under review.
What is perhaps most notable is that despite backpackers returning en masse in 2022/23, and now at record highs, 34% of employers were still struggling to recruit enough labor. This points again to failures in the labor market that Federal Government programs and policies, including the Working Holiday Maker program and Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme, are designed to address.
The Council encourages further work from ABARES that would lead to a deeper understanding of these labor market failures and how government responses can best assure Australians a secure supply of fresh and affordable fruits, vegetables, nuts, turf, and nursery products.
For more information:
National Farmers Federation
Tel: +61 (02) 6269 5666
Email: [email protected]
www.nff.org.au