NOTICES › Seasonal Worker Program (Question No. 242)
Mrs Andrews: The Minister for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business has provided the following answer to the honourable member's question: (a) Seasonal workers participation in the Seasonal Worker Programme (SWP) by nationality Table 1 represents the number of subclass 416 and 403 visas issued under the SWP from 2013–14 to 2018–19 by the country of citizenship. Table 1 Financial Year of Visa Grant Fiji Kiribati Nauru Papua New Guinea Samoa Solomon Islands Timor-Leste Tonga Tuvalu Vanuatu Total 2013-14 0 14 0 26 162 <10 74 1497 20 212 2014 2014-15 <10 11 0 35 185 21 168 2179 <10 567 3177 2015-16 160 20 17 42 140 61 224 2624 <10 1198 4490 2016-17 190 124 0 139 309 87 477 2691 0 2149 6166 2017-18 247 364 0 92 527 175 915 2790 0 3349 8459 2018-19 436 377 0 128 677 314 1567 3738 0 4965 12,202 a) Source: Department of Home Affairs, 2019 (BR0146.04) b) Note 1: Seasonal Worker Programme includes visa subclass 416 and subclass 403 under the Seasonal Worker Programme c) Note 2: Excludes subclass 416 visas granted under the Pacific Seasonal Worker Pilot Scheme d) Note 3: Figures are from a dynamic source as reported on 30 November 2019 and are subject to variations. (b) and (c) Seasonal workers occupation and industry sub-sector The Department of Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business does not collect SWP data by occupation at the Australia and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations 4 digit level and the sponsoring employers' industry subsector at the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification 4 digit level. Table 2 provides the number of approved places for seasonal workers by eligible industry under the SWP from 2013–14 to 2018–19. Table 2 Number of SWP Approved Places* Industry 13–14 14–15 15–16 16–17 17–18 18–19 Accommodation 32 40 50 91 109 151 Agriculture 15 56 101 139 Horticulture 1843 3261 4625 6241 8831 13,000 Viticulture 84 <10 * The department approves SWP places based on the requests from the Approved Employers . The number of SWP places ultimately filled depends on the availability of workers and the issued visas. Note: The number of SWP approved places does not align with the numbers of issued visas each financial year, as they are separate processes subject to different timing and workers ' availability. (d) Location of the sponsoring employers The Department of Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business does not collect the data on location of the sponsoring employers at Statistical Area Level 4 level (SA4). Around one third of SWP approved employers are labour hire firms/contractors that operate across the states and/or nationally. In addition, some growers have farms in different SA4 locations. However, SWP data is available for approved places for seasonal workers at the SA4 level as per Table 3. Table 3 provides a breakdown of SWP approved places from 2013–14 to 2018–19 by location at SA4 level. Table 3 Number of SWP Approved Places* ABS SA4 13–14 14–15 15–16 16–17 17–18 18–19 NSW 216 409 713 1024 1236 1439 Baulkham Hills and Hawkesbury <10 <10 10 10 12 Capital Region <10 25 <10 Central Coast 24 46 20 88 162 176 Central West <10 16 47 97 136 128 Coffs Harbour - Grafton <10 22 38 416 105 48 Mid North Coast 12 <10 10 <10 <10 12 Murray 40 145 64 103 151 New England and North West 83 132 127 194 232 316 Richmond - Tweed 30 32 34 31 65 140 Riverina 44 230 39 297 319 Southern Highlands and Shoalhaven <10 Sydney - Baulkham Hills and Hawkesbury 34 35 23 29 32 48 Sydney - Outer South West 19 35 34 44 61 66 Sydney - South West 12 NT 125 98 208 269 543 680 Darwin 119 146 183 Northern Territory - Outback 125 98 208 150 397 497 QLD 952 1695 1884 2685 3424 4595 Cairns 69 179 363 748 1212 1655 Darling Downs - Maranoa 86 10 63 148 283 255 Fitzroy 280 478 405 607 447 407 Ipswich 33 11 12 14 15 46 Mackay 62 346 335 195 191 345 Moreton Bay - North 40 44 135 55 Queensland - Outback 99 80 128 158 302 569 Sunshine Coast 18 44 59 56 73 109 Toowoomba 40 70 Townsville 20 <10 50 15 157 Wide Bay 225 527 515 665 751 927 SA 103 136 331 746 1297 2030 Adelaide - Central and Hills <10 <10 <10 60 12 Adelaide - North 20 246 230 371 Adelaide - South 36 Barossa - Yorke - Mid North 130 South Australia - Outback 70 173 217 South Australia - South East 96 134 307 430 704 1394 TAS 65 162 281 206 629 1309 Hobart <10 11 14 10 Launceston and North East 15 71 81 175 439 594 South East 59 West and North West 50 91 195 20 176 646 VIC 310 564 948 1169 1317 2236 Gippsland 10 <10 <10 Hume 22 12 Latrobe - Gippsland 45 115 111 174 216 Melbourne - Outer East 20 64 17 22 32 181 Melbourne - South East 96 310 277 372 548 Melbourne - West 15 15 89 133 Mornington Peninsula <10 39 North West 230 228 192 587 443 920 Shepparton 60 131 299 147 171 184 WA 104 237 325 373 595 1010 Bunbury 58 68 162 190 346 382 Mandurah 30 18 Perth - North East 15 Perth - North West 36 Western Australia - Outback 36 124 122 141 164 350 Western Australia - Wheat Belt 10 <10 41 42 55 245 * The department approves SWP places based on the requests from the Approved Employers . The number of SWP places ultimately filled depends on the availability of workers and the issued visas. Note: The number of SWP approved places does not align with the numbers of issued visas each financial year, as they are separate processes subject to different timing and workers ' availability.