Visa Glitch Hits WA Hospitality, Backpackers Flee

0:00It's April 3, Sydney news today starts now, AI powered and ready, I'm Cory with the story. A weird visa glitch is hitting Western Australia's hospitality scene hard. Rotteness Island, just 33 kilometers off Perth, counts as remote under government rules. That lets backpackers rack up 88 days of hospitality work there to snag a second working holiday visa. But spots like Margarit River, 270 kilometers south, don't qualify as remote. So hospitality gigs there won't extend your stay. Only farm jobs in the south west count toward those visa days, forcing skilled cafe and hotel workers to bail for remote field work. Businesses train these folks up, only to watch them split after a few months chasing the requirement elsewhere. Southwest owners are fuming about the turnover costs and constant retraining. They say their economies lean heavy on backpackers and losing them mid-season kills small operations. Even in places like Pemberton, farms qualify but hospitality spots sit empty.

1:04Rotteness bosses push back, saying their A-class reserve status means no private housing, making it tough to lure staff despite the ferry rides from. Perth, other remote spots admit backpackers still flock to coasts over inland farms. The Department of Home Affairs is reviewing the whole program to balance regional labor needs with cultural exchange goals and cut exploitation risks. So changes might be coming to ease these headaches.