Complete the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources survey at: https://online.agriculture.gov.au/dawr/servlet/SmartForm.html?formCode=work-hol-review Before you do though, please consider the following important facts below when answering the questions: 1. Working holiday-makers undertake work that Australians are unable or unwilling to perform. Working Holiday Makers tend to do the casual, short term seasonal work that doesn’t suit most Australians. While tens of thousands of Australians work on farms around the country every day, many Australians don’t want this type of work and choose other options that suit them better. 2. Backpackers should pay at least some tax while in Australia. The ‘backpacker’ tax will mean 32.5% paid in tax for every dollar earned by Working Holiday Makers. While it’s fair to expect backpackers to pay some tax – they use public facilities and services just like everyone else - the tax rate itself should be fair and set at a level that means Australia is competitive with other working holiday destinations. 3. Working holiday-makers should be able to access their superannuation when they depart Australia. Superannuation aims to provide adequate levels of retirement income for Australians while relieving pressure on the Age Pension and increasing national savings. Most backpackers have no intention of retiring in Australia and don’t need to set up a retirement fund here. The money saved could be reinvested into regional employment programs to boost the participation of local employees. 4. The number of working holiday-makers coming to Australia will decline if a 32.5 per cent income tax rate is enforced. The number of Working Holiday Makers in the agriculture sector has declined by 10 and 12 per cent respectively in the las two years. This trend will only get worse if tax rates make working in Australia an unattractive proposition. 5. Working holiday-makers contribute to regional Australia. The average Working Holiday Maker earns about $15000 while they are here and spends roughly 80% of that on food, travel and accommodation in Australia, while bringing new life into rural communities. 6. Is it important that working holiday-makers spend time outside major cities. It’s up to Working Holiday Makers to choose how they want to spend their time in Australia. Exploring Australia outside our major cities is a unique, once-in-a-lifetime experience. Whether it be the outback, a vibrant rural town, the coast or the mountains, all Working Holiday Makers can benefit from experiencing rural and regional Australia while they are here. 7. Australian workers should be given the opportunity to work, before the role is offered to a working holiday-maker. Australian farmers lose $700 million to the farm sector each year due to labour shortages – jobs they can’t fill from the local market. Working Holiday Makers fill these critical gaps. Making it harder for farmers to employ them makes no sense for regional agricultural work –all it would mean is more meaningless red tape for farmers and fewer work opportunities for Working Holiday Makers. 8. The labour hire industry is sufficiently regulated with respect to working holiday-makers. Australia has some of the strongest workplace laws in the world. We don’t need more laws, but we do need better enforcement of the current laws. Working Holiday Makers should be treated fairly while at work. Labour hire companies have the same obligations as all other Australian employers. 9. The amount of red tape involved in employing workers is about right. The consequence of having strong workplace laws is that there is a lot of red tape involved in employing workers. From forms filled out on commencement to constant monitoring, reporting and compliance, the weight of Australian labour regulation makes us less competitive in global markets than many other countries. 10. I am aware of government programmes to help people in seasonal and temporary jobs. Australia has many programs designed to help people into seasonal and temporary work, including the Seasonal Worker Program, JobActive and the PaTH program. These programs may be intended to help address seasonal and short term labour needs but they are not adequate on their own to supply Australia’s agricultural workforce. Working Holiday Makers are essential to the future of Australian agriculture and we can’t do without them.