Changes to visa processing laws which prioritise defense and law enforcement workers will push skilled dairy workers to the back of the queue at the worst possible time of year.
Ministerial Direction 119 took effect in July, replacing previous arrangements that gave employer-sponsored regional positions high processing priority.
Calivil dairy farmer Belinda Clymo, whose dairy business milks around 3000 cows, said this change will have a huge impact on her business and across the wider dairy industry.
She is currently waiting on three staff via the PALM scheme and another three under a different scheme.
“The visa program gives us the ability to employ staff and expand our operation, further delays will have a genuine impact on our productivity,” Belinda said.
“As a business we try to fulfill our roles within Australia but we do have to look overseas.”
She said the investment to bring a worker out is not cheap costing around $10,000 per person.
“It is a lot of money and you don’t want that worker to stay for a short time and then move on to another farm.
“We also don’t want to be seen to be taking visa workers from other farms either because I know how hard the process is and of course there is the financial cost involved in the process.”
She said if the process takes even longer than it does now, it will make it harder to replace staff as they move on.
Finley dairy farmer Marcus Flanagan said a large percentage of his workforce is made up from overseas workers.
The business currently milks over 1200 cows and employs around 20 staff.
“If we cant easily employ international workers where will our workforce come from?
“We employ all levels from entry up to management and we have had workers work their way up - it is essential to what we do,” Marcus said.
Marcus said the Australian dairy industry feeds our nation and underpins our rural communities.
“You would think the government would be supporting us, its just another example of how out of touch they are,” he said.
Dairy Farmers is calling on the Federal Government to urgently reverse the decision.
Australian Dairy Farmers president Ben Bennett said the change was made without consultation or direct communication with the dairy industry.
“This is not a minor administrative change, as the unintended consequences are significant. The Government has changed the queue after farmers and skilled workers have already paid to get into it,” Mr Bennett said.
“Some dairy farmers have spent up to $12,000 finding, assessing and sponsoring skilled workers because those skills simply cannot be found locally.
“They have paid government fees, made workforce plans and acted in good faith. Now many of those workers who have been waiting for up to 6 months already, have been pushed to the bottom of the pile.”
Mr Bennett said the timing was particularly damaging during spring calving.
“Cows don’t wait for Home Affairs to process a visa," Mr Bennett said.
“If the worker doesn’t arrive, the work falls back on the farmer, their family and existing staff.
“That means longer hours, more fatigue, greater risk of accident, lower productivity and greater food safety concerns at one of the busiest times of the year.”
ADF said the decision was particularly difficult to understand given dairy’s growing reliance on skilled migration and ongoing regional workforce shortages.
“Farmers turn to migration because they cannot find the people with the right skills locally,” Mr Bennett said.
“Only three months ago ADF representatives appeared in front of a joint standing committee on migration and outlined how important these workers are.
"Government cannot take money from farmers and visa applicants, recognise there is a genuine skills shortage, and then leave them high and dry.
“Spring calving is happening now. Dairy farmers need skilled workers on farms, not sitting at the bottom of a visa processing queue.
“The government needs to fix this now and immediately change dairy related visas to higher priority categories,” Mr Bennett said.