Tuesday, September 24, 2024

Work visa process ‘a litany of errors’

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Road to hiring migrant farm support staff branded “clunky, timing-consuming and confusing to navigate”.
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Judy and David Garshaw had hoped they wouldn’t be picking up calves without a key team member this season, but that’s exactly where they’ve found themselves.

“We have an experienced Irish dairy farmer ready to join our team, but she’s stuck in Australia because of issues with her immigration paperwork,” says Judy. 

“When we started the Accredited Employer Work Visa application process, we were told it would be six weeks, but that process has ballooned out to four months now.

“Our staff member, Aoidhe, is just sitting in Australia twiddling her thumbs while she waits for Immigration NZ to let her get on a plane. It’s so frustrating.” 

Judy, 65, and David, 68, are dairy farm owners in Otaua, North Waikato, and had hoped Aoidhe would be with them well before calving started. 

“What really mattered to me was giving her enough time to do a driving safety course, do the health and safety checks, familiarise herself with the farm,” Judy says.

“We wanted her to have time to settle in and find her feet in a new country, but now she’ll be arriving in the middle of calving and be straight into work.” 

Judy says she and David are still very active and hands-on farmers, but their plan was to have Aoidhe join their team to help with the physical work.

“We’ve been stretched so thin that we even had my 73-year-old sister, who lives in a retirement village in Matamata, helping out on the farm.

“A woman of her age should be enjoying her retirement, not on her hands and knees in the mud calving a cow with milk fever at 5.30am on a cold winter morning.” 

Judy says the entire process with Immigration NZ has been clunky, timing-consuming, and confusing to navigate. 

“It’s just a litany of errors, really. The whole system is completely broken and it feels impossible to get a clear answer about what’s happening with your application.” 

Federated Farmers immigration spokesperson Richard McIntyre says it’s frustrating that many farming families are in a similar position to the Garshaws.

“It’s simply not good enough that we’ve got families heading into the thick of calving season without enough staff to properly run their farm. 

“Things are nearing crisis point, and they haven’t been helped by recent changes to the Accredited Employer Work Visa scheme that are causing significant delays.

“Many of our rural communities, particularly those more remote, just don’t have a large enough local workforce, let alone with the farming skills required.

“Unfortunately, those farmers are often dependent on skilled international staff to fill critical gaps in their team to keep the farm running.” 

McIntyre says it can be incredibly stressful for farmers who find themselves short-staffed during a busy time of year – particularly if it’s unexpected.  

“It can have major flow-on effects to not only your workload, mental health and animal welfare, but also your family life and relationships too.

“We probably don’t talk enough about that last point, but we should because the pressure it can put on an entire farming family can be crushing.” 

He says Federated Farmers are aware of the issues and are working closely with Immigration NZ and Minister Erica Stanford to try and resolve them quickly. 

“Policy changes have created grey areas that are causing significant delays, but there are some things farmers can be doing themselves to help speed things up.

“The major challenge right now is that more than half of all dairy visa applications are being returned to farmers because of issues with the paperwork.

“We understand the most common issues are farmers using the wrong ANZSCO code or failing to provide sufficient evidence of three years’ experience. 

“Immigration NZ have told us that clear and well-evidenced applications should be processed rapidly, but if farmers are having issues, we want them to reach out to us.

“That’s the value of your Federated Farmers membership: we’re here and we’ve got your back when you need it most.”

Good news for the Garshaws finally came through shortly after Federated Farmers went to bat for them.

“We’ve just had news from Immigration NZ that Aoidhe’s paperwork has been processed and she can finally enter the country,” Judy said on July 19.

“It’s like a huge weight has been lifted. She’ll be on a plane and with us on the farm by midday tomorrow.

“I urge any farmer who is not a member of Federated Farmers to consider joining. 

“This is not the first time they have been very supportive and, without their help, I doubt we’d have Aoidhe here.”

Federated Farmers, New Zealand’s leading independent rural advocacy organisation, has established a news and insights partnership with AgriHQ, the country’s leading rural publisher, to give the farmers of New Zealand a more informed, united and stronger voice. Federated Farmers news and commentary appears each week in its own section of the Farmers Weekly print edition and online.


In Focus Podcast | Calving starts with many facing labour shortage

Immigration settings are still causing headaches for farmers as calving begins. Many are struggling to get migrant worker visas processed so they can begin work. Federated Farmers dairy chair Richard McIntyre tells Bryan what he’s doing to help improve the process and gives some tips on how farmers can give themselves the best chance of clearing the hurdles.

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