13 more countries being considered for Working Holiday Visas. Australias Working Holiday Maker visa program grew by close to 16% last year with the grant of over 258,000 visas last year. Minister Scott Morrison is looking to expand the program further saying that the program significantly benefits the economy in general and is of particular importance to the hospitality and tourism sectors. Impressed with the economic benefits backpackers bring to Australia, DIBP Minister Scott Morrison is looking to expand and improve the working holiday visa programme. Speaking at the Transport and Tourism Forum in Canberra recently, the Minister said he has noted calls from the tourism sector for improvements in the program. “I am aware that many in the tourism sector would like to see substantial changes to the program. These will be potential considerations for the government going forward. We also anticipate the program will continue to grow, as will the support it provides to both the tourism sector and those sectors which are crucially interrelated,” said the Minister. “ DIBP is currently in the process of negotiating new and more liberalised Working Holiday Maker visa arrangements with thirteen new partner countries including Poland, Mexico, Hungary, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Vietnam, San Marino, the Czech Republic, Israel, Latvia, the Slovak Republic and Andorra. On average, each Working Holiday Maker spends A$13,218 during their stay in Australia. Approximately 71 per cent of this expenditure occurs in the three interrelated areas of tourism, accommodation and transportation. The Minister noted that Working Holiday Makers generally tend to spend more than they earn, making a small but important contribution to the creation of Australian jobs. For every 100 Working Holiday Makers who arrive in Australia there is a net gain to the Australian economy of 6.3 full time jobs. This means that the 258,000 Working Holiday arrivals in the last financial year generated more than 16,000 additional Australian jobs. He said that in addition to the substantial funds Working Holiday Makers spend during their stay on tourism related activities, the program also assists the tourism sector with its seasonal labour needs. Around 69 per cent of Working Holiday Makers engage in some form of employment, with research indicating that more than 34 per cent of those who engage in work during their stay in Australia, do so in the area of accommodation and food services. He however warns that the Working Holiday Maker program is not a proxy pathway to a labour visa. He said, “The employment movement requirements are one of the most important provisions of the scheme and if this aspect of the program were removed, the tourism industry would lose one of its most important visa assets. No one benefits from a young traveller spending two years in Sydney working in a kitchen.”
Posted on: Wed, 26 Mar 2014 04:54:36 +0000