Why does Australia want Brits to swap Sydney for the outback?

BySimon Atkinson Australia producer, Reporting fromCairns.

Key points

• Regarding 200km north, at Red Valley Farm in Lakeland, general manger Peter Inderbitzen agrees.
• Young Brits temporarily living and working in this region peaked at around 20, 000 he notes.
• Cairns restaurateur Fintan Rafferty notes that of concerning 180 staff on his payroll throughout four venues, only five are British.
• In a Mexican restaurant in north-east Australia, the nacho bowls are served by staff from France, Italy, Ireland and Argentina.
• When a free trade accord between the UK and Australia kicked in, it's a trend McLeay has noticed since mid-2023.

Cairns has long attracted a young and transient international crowd. This person enjoy the tropical lifestyle while earning funds for travel.

But one nationality is in shorter supply than it applied to be.

"You get far fewer British backpackers looking for jobs here these days, " notes Mexicairns owner Peter McLeay.

That agreement – as well as tariff-free trade in Tim Tams and Penguins – included special treatment for Brits on working holiday visas: exemption from having to find jobs in regional or remote places if they wanted to remain beyond a year.

That, along with an growth in the age limit from 30 to 35 saw backpacker visas issued to Brits surging from 47, 200 in 2023-24 to just over 77, 000 in 2025-26, according to the latest Australian administration data.

Without the incentive to go regional, plenty of are choosing to base themselves in the sizeable cities, or, according to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, "Bondi or Coogee" – two of Sydney's most famous beachside suburbs.

Now though, with Brits making up almost a quarter of all 323, 000 backpacker visas issued last year, his administration wants the free trade agreement to be revisited. A privilege not enjoyed by others.

"Plenty of Brits don't treat it as a working holiday anymore. It's more a three-year career break, " notes Dan McConnell, general manager of the Mad Monkey backpacker hostel chain.

He notes Brits employed to be the largest clientele at its Cairns accommodation but "now French outnumber British three to one".

"We see the Brits get to Sydney, decide it's the coolest place in the world, and stay there, " he adds.

It's a privilege not enjoyed by working holidaymakers from other countries who must do at least 88 days of "specified regional work" in industries that need a seasonal or temporary workforce – including agriculture, fisheries, tourism and hospitality – if they want to quality for a second year extension, and six months to stay a third year.

Barely a month ago, Albanese ruled out forcing British backpackers to do the same, accepting it as part of the trade accord.

But, under pressure from businesses here in Far North Queensland and other regional Australian communities. This person are concerned regarding a lack of labour, the mood music has changed.

Last week Albanese met UK counterpart Andy Burnham at the session of Commonwealth leaders in the Caribbean.

And alongside AI, gender violence online and the AUKUS defence pact, backpackers were on the agenda.

Despite speculation in the Australian media, no immediate announcement was created. Albanese instead remarked to journalists that he had pushed for a change in the rules on backpackers and that Burnham had been "very constructive about it".

"We'll work those issues through over coming weeks, " he remarked adding that the free trade agreement was not set in stone and tweaks could be produced "if there are good policy reasons".

Backpackers create up one in seven farm jobs throughout Australia, with regarding 52, 000 residents on working holiday visas doing jobs in horticulture each year, according to the National Farmers Federation.

It welcomed Albanese's discussions with Burnham, but remarked the problem of worker shortages in agriculture was far broader than the UK accord.

Of greater concern are wider proposals, confirmed in September, to cut net migration into Australia, under political pressure from the resurgent right wing populist One Nation party and the opposition coalition.

That includes an overhaul of the working holiday visa system, introducing a ballot for backpackers wanting to extend their stay – capped at 45, 000 for individuals wanting a second year in Australia (down from 57, 000 who qualified this year) and just 5, 000 allowed to remain for a third year (compared with 31, 000 this year). This, the federation notes, is "a low blow".

Those intends are still out for consultation, but immigration office-holders have slowed processing rates for some working holiday visa applications and paused them from a number of countries.

Tourism Tropical North Queensland chief executive Mark Olsen has additionally been among those lobbying Albanese in Canberra – telling him that backpackers brought both the spending power and the temporary labour needed to fill seasonal roles in a region famed as a gateway to the Great Barrier Reef and the Unesco world heritage listed Daintree rainforest.

Young Brits temporarily living and working in this region peaked at around 20, 000 he notes. Now it's closer to 11, 000.

"Numbers have dropped significantly since the UK free trade agreement kicked in when border arrangements returned to normal in 2023, " he remarked.

Cairns restaurateur Fintan Rafferty notes that of concerning 180 staff on his payroll throughout four venues, only five are British. Prior to the visa rule change, that was closer to 25.

UK workers came with good skills in hospitality and "were willing to work, and to work flexible hours", he informed the BBC.

And, he remarked, it was a two-way street. "The pay is particularly good, the conditions are highly good. And one of the great things regarding the 88-days rule is that it forces residents to travel. It's enriching their experience."

Bucking the trend, at the bar of Gilligan's backpackers, Paige Tomlinson serves vodka and soda with plenty of ice and a broad South Yorkshire accent.

Meanwhile, the 27-year-old, from Barnsley, has been in Cairns for four months, attracted by the "chilled" lifestyle and local waterfalls.

"Most people prefer Sydney and they question me all the time why I'm here, " she laughs. "But I obtained to Sydney and I just didn't like it. It was too busy, too much like London and I don't like London."

She notes she'd like to see the regional work requirement brought in for all Brits, "getting them out their comfort zone".

"If every other country's got to do it, why should we not?"

Workers mainly from Tonga, hired on a Pacific labour scheme, pick bananas there year-round.

But Inderbitzen additionally relies heavily on backpackers, especially at peak avocado season, employing concerning 25 individuals for a couple of months each year.

"It's very short, sharp, get it done, get it out kind of work, " he informed the BBC. "But without those pickers, the avos stay on the tree."

Taken together, the developments around why does Australia want Brits to swap Sydney for the outback? Point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.