Australia Slows Working Holiday Visa Processing, Suspends Applications From 24 Countries

Australia has slowed processing of new working holiday and backpacker visas, with applications from 24 countries already suspended as the government finalizes a wider package of migration cuts. Working holiday visas are still being processed but are being handled more slowly than they were previously, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke told reporters on Aug. 16, giving no further explanation for the slowdown, Australian Associated Press reported.

Burke defended the delay to the government's wider migration package, saying the policy was still being worked through and had to go through a full cabinet process. Asked what fewer backpackers would mean for agriculture, Burke pointed to the Pacific labor mobility scheme as the primary source of temporary farm staff. When the government improved worker protections on the Pacific program, he said, some of the worst operators responded that they would simply switch to backpackers instead, but that was not how the system was meant to work, SBS News reported.

Applications from 24 countries subject to annual caps were listed as paused on the Department of Home Affairs website as of Aug. 7, leaving only San Marino and Turkey open.