Australian Dairy Farmers is calling on the Federal Government to urgently reverse a visa processing change that has pushed many skilled dairy workers to the back of the queue at the worst possible time of year.
Ministerial Direction 119 took effect on 25 July, replacing previous arrangements that gave employer-sponsored regional positions high processing priority.
Under this new Direction, most skilled visa applicants outside Australia who are not in defence or law enforcement now sit in the fifth and final processing priority.
Australian Dairy Farmers President Ben Bennett said the change was made without consultation or direct communication with the dairy industry.
“This is not a minor administrative change, as the unintended consequences are significant. The Government has changed the queue after farmers and skilled workers have already paid to get into it,” Mr Bennett said.
“Some dairy farmers have spent up to $12,000 finding, assessing and sponsoring skilled workers because those skills simply cannot be found locally.
“They have paid government fees, made workforce plans and acted in good faith. Now many of those workers who have been waiting for up to 6 months already, have been pushed to the bottom of the pile.”
Mr Bennett said the timing was particularly damaging during spring calving.
“Cows don’t wait for Home Affairs to process a visa.
“If the worker doesn’t arrive, the work falls back on the farmer, their family and existing staff.
“That means longer hours, more fatigue, greater risk of accident, lower productivity and greater food security concerns at one of the busiest times of the year.”
ADF said the decision was particularly difficult to understand given dairy’s growing reliance on skilled migration and ongoing regional workforce shortages.
“Farmers turn to migration because they cannot find the people with the right skills locally,” Mr Bennett said.
“Only three months ago ADF representatives appeared in front of a joint standing committee on migration and outlined how important these workers are.
“Government cannot take money from farmers and visa applicants, recognise there is a genuine skills shortage, and then leave them high and dry.
“Spring calving is happening now. Dairy farmers need skilled workers on farms, not sitting at the bottom of a visa processing queue.
“The government needs to fix this now and immediately change dairy related visas to high priority categories,” Mr Bennett said.