Western Australian Premier Roger Cook has urged the Albanese government to reconsider planned changes to working holiday visas, warning that the proposed limits could leave regional tourism and hospitality businesses short of thousands of workers.
In a letter to Immigration Minister Tony Burke, Cook said Western Australia could not support changes to the Working Holiday Maker scheme that risked damaging regional communities and the visitor economy. He said the sector relied on working holiday-makers to maintain tourism and hospitality services for local residents and visitors from elsewhere in Australia and overseas.
The federal government has announced a ballot system for people seeking second- and third-year working holiday visas. Under the announced limits, 45,000 places would be available for a second year and 5,000 for a third year. Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke has compared those figures with 57,000 people who qualified for a second year and 31,000 for a third year in the previous year.
Cook estimated the reduction would mean Western Australia losing about 4,500 tourism and hospitality workers. That figure is the Premier’s estimate of the potential workforce impact, rather than a confirmed count of jobs already lost.
Cook asked Burke to reconsider the proposed changes and said his government would welcome discussions about practical adjustments to reduce the impact on Western Australia. His intervention puts the state Labor government at odds with the federal government’s migration approach, despite both being led by Labor.
The policy is part of a broader federal effort to change migration settings and manage net overseas migration. The Department of Home Affairs says the Working Holiday Maker changes are intended to introduce ballots for the second and third years while retaining a regional work requirement. The government has also said it wants to stabilise processing times for working holiday applications at around three months.
Tourism and hospitality operators in regional Western Australia depend on seasonal workers, including backpackers who travel to regional areas to complete specified work and qualify for a longer stay. The potential effect will vary between towns and businesses, and the 4,500-worker estimate has not been independently established in the material reviewed for this report.
Cook’s letter calls for the federal government to reconsider the changes, but the available statements do not establish that ministers have agreed to alter the proposal. The details and timing of the second- and third-year ballot arrangements remain important to workers and employers awaiting the final rules.
