Backpackers to be enticed with special visas to help bushfire rebuilding effort

Backpackers will be able to access special visas that will allow them to get a second year in Australia and stay with the same employer for a year.

The aim? To help Australia rebuild in the wake of the bushfire crisis.

“The task is enormous,” Alan Tudge, the acting minister for immigration, told Neil Mitchell.

International visitors currently have to work regionally for six months to gain a second year in Australia.

Mr Tudge said paid and unpaid work in approved disaster zones would count towards future visa applications.

Another change made under the system is the ability to stay with the same employer for a year, up from six months.

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