What is the new Agriculture Visa and am I eligible?

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has recently developed the Agriculture Visa (“Ag visa”) to address workforce shortages in the agriculture sector. It is known to supplement the existing Pacific Australia Labour Mobility Scheme, also known as the PALM Scheme, which primarily sources overseas workforce from Pacific countries and Timor-Leste.

Currently, the Ag visa program has been created, but the program design is still being developed and is expected to be released in January 2022. Nonetheless,

What is the Ag visa?

The Ag visa will be a new stream added to the existing Temporary Work (International Relations) Visa – Subclass 403. This visa will allow employers to internationally recruit skilled, semi-skilled and low-skilled workers for the following agricultural industries:

• Horticulture
• Meat processing
• Fishery
• Forestry

Participating Countries – Can I apply?

There have been indications that the Ag visa will be available to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries.

Realistically, visa applications will only be open to citizens of countries where a bi-lateral agreement has been executed.

Visa Duration – How long is the visa?

It has been indicated that the visa program will allow workers to work in Australia for nine (9) months in a year and return to their country for three (3) months for a total period of 3 years.

The greatest news about this visa is the fact that the Australian Government is considering permanent residency pathways for visa holders.

Implementation of Visa – How does it affect me?

The Ag visa program will be managed by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, which is currently managing the PALM Scheme.

There will be two (2) phases in rolling out the operation of the Ag visa. Phase 1 will take place between December 2021 and March 2022, while Phase 2 will start from April 2022.

• Phase 1 allows Approved Employers who already form part of the PALM Scheme to recruit a small cohort of agricultural workers dependent on border restrictions, country readiness and availability of quarantine.
• Phase 2 will see an increase of number of international recruitment and an expansion of bi-lateral agreements with participating countries for the Ag visa.

The specific details of the program will be released in due course. Once further information is released the

CJM Lawyers – Who are we?

We at CJM Lawyers hold extensive knowledge and experience with employer sponsorship and visa applications. If you are interested in becoming a sponsor, please contact our office on 1300 245 299 or info@cjmlaw.com.au.

The CJM team can provide legal services for non-english speaking nationals, such as Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Chinese and French.