Australia reopens deal to lure Brits inland

Australia is moving to renegotiate a free trade deal with the United Kingdom to address labor shortages in regional areas. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters last week that he pushed for changes to working holiday visa rules during a meeting with UK counterpart Andy Burnham at a Commonwealth leaders summit in the Caribbean. No immediate announcement was made, but Albanese said Burnham was constructive and that tweaks could occur if policy reasons exist.

The dispute centers on a provision in the 2023 trade agreement that exempts British citizens from the standard requirement to work in regional or remote areas to extend their visas. This exemption, combined with an age limit increase to 35, caused a surge in British backpacker arrivals. Government data shows visas issued to Brits rose from 47,200 in 2023-24 to over 77,000 in 2025-26. Consequently, Brits now account for nearly a quarter of all 323,000 working holiday visas issued last year.

Local business owners report that many British visitors stay in major cities like Sydney rather than filling seasonal jobs in places like Cairns. Dan McConnell, general manager of the Mad Monkey hostel chain, noted that French visitors now outnumber British guests three to one. He described the shift as a change from a working holiday to a multi-year career break. Fintan Rafferty, a Cairns restaurateur, said his British staff dropped from 25 to five since the rule change.

Agricultural leaders support the push for regional work. The National Farmers Federation stated that backpackers fill one in seven farm jobs, with approximately 52,000 working in horticulture annually. Peter Inderbitzen, a farm manager in Lakeland, said his avocado picking numbers have dropped off since the rule change. He argued that the previous program, which required 88 days of specified regional work, was effective.

Tourism officials also lobbied the government. Mark Olsen, chief executive of Tourism Tropical North Queensland, said the number of young Brits in the region fell from a peak of 20,000 to about 11,000. He emphasized that these workers provide both spending power and the labor needed for the Great Barrier Reef gateway region.

The government is simultaneously consulting on broader immigration caps. Proposals announced in September would limit second-year visa extensions to 45,000 and third-year extensions to 5,000, down from 57,000 and 31,000 respectively. Immigration officials have already slowed processing for some applications. For now, discussions between Canberra and London will continue over the coming weeks.

British visitors in Australia remain divided on the issue. Paige Tomlinson, a 27-year-old from Barnsley living in Cairns, supports bringing back the regional work requirement. She said she prefers the area to Sydney and believes the rule encourages travel. Others, like Ethan Phillips, a 23-year-old from Buckinghamshire on a tourist visa, accept the potential return of the rule as a reasonable trade-off for extending their stay.