Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Wednesday announced Australia will refund visa fees for vaccinated backpackers who arrive within the next three months.
The country — whose tight, pandemic border policies locked out its citizens, and more recently, one of tennis’s biggest stars — is encouraging backpackers to visit.
And it’s doing so because it wants to reduce labor shortages that have been made worse by Covid-19.
“My message to [backpackers] is come on down,” Morrison said this week. “You’ve got your visa, we want you to come to Australia and enjoy a holiday here in Australia, move all the way … around the country and the same time, join our workforce.”
The invitation applies to some 23,500 backpackers who already have visas to enter Australia as well as “anyone who applies for one and turns up within the next 12 weeks,” said Morrison, via the televised announcement.
Visas commonly obtained by backpackers — namely, the subclass 417 and 462 visas, known as “Working Holiday Makers” visas — let young adults who aren’t traveling with dependent children work and travel through…
