Australia weighs regional-work requirement for British backpackers

Australia is considering revisiting a visa deal that lets British backpackers stay for up to three years without completing the regional work required of young travellers from most other countries. The government is under pressure from businesses in regional areas that say they need seasonal workers.

The exemption was part of the UK-Australia free trade agreement, which took effect in 2023. A separate change raised the age limit for British working holiday visas from 30 to 35. Australian government figures cited by the BBC show visas issued to Britons rose from 47,200 in 2023-24 to just over 77,000 in 2025-26.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said he wants the rules changed. After meeting UK counterpart Andy Burnham at a Commonwealth leaders’ gathering, he said the agreement was not set in stone and could be adjusted for good policy reasons. No immediate change was announced, and Albanese had ruled out requiring Britons to do regional work only a month earlier.

The debate centres on a requirement that applies to other working holidaymakers: at least 88 days of specified regional work to qualify for a second year, and six months for a third. The work includes roles in agriculture, fisheries, tourism and hospitality.

Some regional employers say the exemption has made it harder to recruit. Cairns hostel manager Dan McConnell says French guests now outnumber British guests at his accommodation by three to one. Farm owner Peter Inderbitzen says British applications for seasonal work have “completely dropped off” since the rule change. Tourism Tropical North Queensland chief executive Mark Olsen estimates the number of young British workers in the region has fallen from a peak of about 20,000 to around 11,000.

There are other factors in the labour debate. The National Farmers Federation says backpackers fill about one in seven farm jobs, with roughly 52,000 working holiday visa holders working in horticulture each year, but says agricultural labour shortages extend beyond the UK deal. It has also criticised wider proposed visa changes, including caps on extensions, as a “low blow”. Those proposals remain under consultation.

The proposed changes matter to travellers as well as employers. Cairns hospitality worker Fintan Rafferty says the regional-work requirement encouraged visitors to travel beyond major cities. British backpacker Paige Tomlinson supports bringing the requirement back for Britons, while another traveller, Ethan Phillips, says he would rather avoid it but would accept three months of regional work if required.