Vietnam signs up for ag visa program

Australia has today signed Vietnam up for its Agriculture Visa Program, announced in September last year to help meet agricultural workforce shortages amidst the pandemic and border closures.

As a result, workers from Vietnam are expected to be the first cohort to arrive in the country using the newly introduced visa.

In a media statement, Foreign Affairs Minister, Marise Payne, said the agreement serves to strengthen and extend the already rich links both countries share in terms of people relations and trade.

“For decades, Vietnamese workers, students, businesspeople, and tourists have made extensive contributions to Australia. The Australian Government looks forward to this continuing under the program,” she said.

“Australia and Vietnam share a strong and optimistic agenda in our relationship. We are bound by warm ties of friendship and family that extend across every level of community, government and business. This step reflects what is possible when we work together.”

The Agriculture Visa was introduced last year as a sustainable way to help farmers fill worker shortages on farms especially during peak seasons such as harvesting. It supplements the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme, which remains the mainstay for meeting agricultural workforce shortages in our primary industries sector and the key solution for the current harvest.

Under the Australian Agriculture Visa program, employees will be recruited to work across a range of agriculture sectors, including horticulture, dairy, wool, grains, fisheries and forestry, including support services and primary processing.

The visa is available for workers of all skill levels and will provide flexibility for workers to move between approved employers without compromising workforce standards and undermining worker protections.

National Farmers Federation (NFF) CEO, Tony Mahar, said the visa plays a crucial role in helping the Australian agriculture sector meet its ambitious target.

"During the tough economic times of the past two years, farmers have continued to put food on supermarket shelves, support jobs and contribute significantly to the nation's GDP," he said.

"The Ag Visa is a key part of a suite of measures needed to address agriculture's workforce shortage and to ensure our sector meets its $100-billion-by-2030 target."

He said a significant amount of Australian grain, beef and horticulture products was exported to Vietnam and it was a great continuation of that relationship to have Vietnamese Ag Visa holders working on Australian farms.

“The partnership with Vietnam signals the practical beginning of the Ag Visa, an initiative led by the NFF,” he said.

"Vietnamese Ag Visa holders will certainly be welcomed arrivals to farms and regional communities across Australia.

“I congratulate Foreign Minister, Marise Payne, on her hard work in seeing Australia’s already close ties with Vietnam strengthened through this agreement.

"The visa would not have got to this point without Agriculture Minister David Littleproud and his dogged commitment to seeing it become a reality."