Just last second week of September this year, the Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has announced that it has expanded its Pacific Seasonal Workers Pilot Scheme (PSWPS) --- inviting the countries of Nauru, Samoa, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu to join Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, Tonga and Vanuatu as participants in the Pacific Seasonal Worker Pilot Scheme --- a scheme designed for Australian employers to get a guaranteed labor force during peak harvest time, while workers have the chance to earn high wages to send home remittances to family and community.
Under the pilot scheme, Pacific seasonal workers from Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, Tonga or Vanuatu as well as workers from Nauru, Samoa, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu can now be recruited by Australian farmers to work in Australia’s horticulture industry for up to six months, picking fruit in orchards and vineyards under special visa conditions different from the conditions set in the Australian Work Holiday Visa

This move has been aimed to boost the potential labor force of Australian horticultural farmers by providing Australian producers more avenues to source workers, where seasonal demands outstrip the local labor supply.

Though the expansion of the Pacific Seasonal Worker Pilot Scheme have boosted the potential labor force of Australian horticultural farmers; however, according to farming industry sources, with the growing seasonal harvest needs of Australia’s horticultural industry as well as the chronic labor shortages that still needed filling in other agricultural sectors, more work is still needed.
The National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) --- Australia’s peak national body representing farmers and, more broadly, agriculture across Australia --- praised the recent PSWPS expansion and recognised the pilot scheme’s ongoing role in helping meet the seasonal harvest needs of Australia’s horticultural industry.

However, according to Duncan Fraser --- NFF vice president and workplace relations committee chairman --- the recent PSWPS expansion --- though welcomed --- needs more work in order to increase the uptake of workers on Australian farms, not just on horticulture.

Though about 22,000 fruit picking jobs “go begging” in Australia each year --- as many students and backpackers under Working Holiday Australia Visa comes to Australia each year --- many horticultural growers are still finding themselves watching their produce rot at a cost of around $100,000 per crop per year.

It is a fact that for many years, overseas students and backpackers under Working Holiday Australia Visa have been coming to Australia each year as this working Holiday Australia Visa allows visa holders the option to supplement their holiday funds with short-term or part-time work while holidaying in the country.

According to Mr. Fraser as the PSWPS is just to run for three years and will soon end on June 30 next year, he recommends for a much further expansion that would include other nations, while extracting more from those already participating like Papua New Guinea --- which is a potentially huge market with its population of about 7 million people.

Mr. Fraser further says that it is essential to improve the pilot scheme by expanding the scheme with the inclusion of more new nations, without detraction from the progress made with those already participating.

With the potential expansion of the pilot scheme and the always expected overseas students and backpackers under Australian visa tourist Working Holiday coming to Australia annually, these potential workers is hoped to fill up the workforce gap.

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