Australia Farm Worker Visa farm worker jobs in Australia

Australian immigration has official started Australia farm worker visa to fill farm worker jobs. There was a great demand by Australian Farmers to start a dedicated visa through which they can hire workers in horticulture sectors. Finally, the Horticulture Industry Labour Agreement commenced on 1st January 2020 with 31 listed occupations. (Note: there is no visa officially called the “farm worker visa” — farm workers are sponsored under the labour agreement stream of the Skills in Demand visa, subclass 482.)
Australian employers would be able to recruit skilled and low skilled workers from overseas and from inside Australia as well. However, employers need to make sure that there is no local worker available for prospective job. [adinserter block=”1″]
What type of Visa is issued for farm worker jobs in Australia?
The Australian government issues this visa under the “Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482)”, which replaced the Temporary Skill Shortage visa on 7 December 2024. Subclass 482 has several streams, and farm worker sponsorship goes through the “labour agreement stream”. You can find more about this stream on the official Home Affairs website.
Depending on term of contract and labor agreement, you can stay maximum 4 years in Australia with this visa. You can include your dependents in your visa application as well.
Can you apply farm worker visa without sponsorship?
No, you cannot apply farm worker visa without sponsorship. You have to find an Australian employer who is agree to give you a farm worker job. Your future employer need to apply for a labor agreement online at Australian immigration website before he sponsor you for this visa.
Can You Stay Longer with this visa?
Visa subclass 482 is generally granted for a period of maximum 4 years. if you wish to stay longer than 4 years, there are two ways for you and your employer.
1. You can get this visa again and stay 4 years more in Australia. You have to meet all requirements of this visa.
2. Your employer can nominate you for permanent residence program of Australia through employer nomination scheme subclass 186. Once you get permanent residence of Australia, you can live and work there forever with your family.
Australia Skilled Occupation List for Farm Worker Visa:
Australian immigration uses skilled occupation list for each work visa. A list of 31 occupations has been published by Australian immigration. Australian employer can hire workers in only in these 31 occupations. So, it is important for you to know that you should find job only in these occupations if you want to get this visa. This list of occupations is as follows:
1. Irrigation Designer/ Manager
2. Agronomist
3. Entomologist
4. Horticulture Grower
5. Protected Cropping Grower
6. Horticulture Research &
Development Officer
7. Mechanical Engineer
8. Horticulture Farm Manager
9. Quality Assurance Manager
10. Biosecurity Officer
11. Facility Plant Manager
12. Facility Supervisor
13. Maintenance Electrician
14. Fitter and Welder
15. Agriculture Technician
16. Mechanic
17. Senior Nursery person
18. Nursery person
19. Nursery Supervisor
20. Truck Driver
21. Mobile Plant Operator
22. Fork Lift Driver
23. Irrigationist
24. Irrigationist Assistant
25. Horticulture Section
Manager
26. Section Supervisor
27. Production Horticulture
Supervisor
28. Production Horticulturist
29. Machinery Manager
30. Machinery Supervisor
31. Cold Storage Manager
Education Required for Farm Worker Visa:
There is no educational requirement specified by Australian government. However, Australian government requires one year of relevant work experience for the visa (reduced from two years). As this is an employer sponsored visa and you need to find a job first, so your future employer may demand any qualification which is needed for the job.
How to Apply Australia Farm work visa?
Generally, you need to follow these steps to apply farm worker visa:
1. First of all find an employer who is willing to hire you for a farm worker job in Australia. We have explained below how you can find an employer.
2. Once you have secured a job offer, your employer will apply for a nomination for you. An Australian employer needs to proof that there is no worker available for this job in Australia.
3. Once your employer has got nomination for you, you will have to apply for the visa through the labour agreement stream of the “Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482)”. You need to create an account at Australian immigration website because you can apply this online.
Please Note: you will not find the term “farm worker visa” on the immigration website; look for the Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482) labour agreement stream.
Eligibility Requirements for Farm Worker Visa:
• You must be nominated by an Australian employer.
• There is no age limit for the subclass 482 visa itself. (Age thresholds apply to the permanent Employer Nomination Scheme, subclass 186, not to this visa.)
• Have at least one year of relevant working experience in your nominated occupation (reduced from two years on 23 November 2024).
• English requirements are set by the labour agreement — check the English concession specified in the Horticulture Industry Labour Agreement rather than assuming a blanket IELTS score.
• You may need skill assessment from relevant Australian authority. However, there is no need to apply skill assessment until you find an employer. Once you have found an employer, you can then proceed for skill assessment and keep in mind, not all occupations require skill assessment. Your employer will advise you if you need it .
• You need to meet good health requirements. You will have to have to medical fitness test.
• You have to meet good character requirements it means you will need a police clearance certificate.
How to Find Farm Worker Jobs in Australia?
Job offer is the first and foremost requirement of farm worker visa. You have to apply for jobs in any occupation which is included in skilled occupation list and of course, you must have some qualification in that occupation. You can search jobs online at google or other good reputed job search websites. Always try to find jobs where employer is willing to offer visa sponsorship with job. You should have your cover letter and resume ready. If you see there is a job, you need to send cover letter and resume to employer or HR manager. You can find How to Write A cover Letter for A job and How to Create a good Resume/CV.
Job Search Website for Farm Worker Visa:
• seek.com.au This is the best website to find jobs in Australia. At this website, you can find many employers who are willing to give jobs with visa sponsorship.
• careerone.com.au
• careerjet.com.au
• indeed.com.au
• skilled.com.au
Recruitment Agencies for Farm Worker Jobs:
There are some Australian recruitment agencies which can help you to find job in Australia. We have list some good recruitment agencies below. You can visit their websites and contact them for job offer. You need to be very careful because they may charge some fees for their services. We do not advise you to pay any heavy amount to any agency. do no share your credit card information with them. We have listed these websites for your information only.
Adecco
Allstaff Resources
Challenge Recruitment
Chandler MacLeod
Command Recruitment Group
Drake International
Entree Recruitment
Excel Recruitment
Extrastaff
Hays
Hender Consulting
Hudson Global Resources
James Gall and Associates
Julia Ross
Manpower
McArthur Management Services
Morton Phillips
Maxima
Ranstad
Talent International
Rexco People
Robert Walters
Scottford and Fennessy
Skilled
Stillwell Management Consultants
Stillwell Select
Talent2
Farm worker Visa Fees:
If you are nominated, you need to apply visa online. At this stage, you have to pay the visa application charge online. The 2645 AUD / 660 AUD figures above are 2022 rates and are no longer current — the charge is now substantially higher (over AUD 3,000 for the main applicant in recent official schedules), so confirm the exact current fee on the official Home Affairs visa pricing estimator before paying. You can pay fees online with your credit card. Avoid mistakes in your visa application because visa fees are non-refundable in case of refusal.
Visa Processing Time:
Current processing times are much longer than the four to eight weeks stated when this article was written — the labour agreement stream currently takes several months. Check the current global visa processing times on the Home Affairs website before applying.
How is visa issued?
Australian immigration does not stamp farm worker visa on your passport. Visa is issued digitally which is automatically linked to your passport. Immigration department will send a notification letter to you which will have a visa number. You can use this number to find all information about your visa through VEVO and can travel to Australia.