Author: Liam Palmer

Our borders are open and ALA is ready to go! This last week has seen not only the Queensland domestic border open but has also seen the ‘Sunshine State’ open to quarantine-free international travel for vaccinated people.

With Queensland about to enter its busiest time of the year for farm work, fruit picking and other major harvests, this is great news for the agriculture industry and the thousands of farmers who are eagerly awaiting more workers.

Even better, is the cash incentive being offered to students and backpackers who come to Australia over the next few months. This will see eligible working holiday-maker visa holders who arrive within the next 12 weeks receiving a $600 cash rebate!

Here’s what you need to know about coming to Queensland:

2. You must be fully vaccinated (double dosed) and have a negative Covid-19 Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) within 24 hours before entering the country to qualify for quarantine free entry
3. Unvaccinated people will be required to quarantine for two weeks (at their own expense) regardless of whether they return negative RAT and PCR Covid-19 tests

Right now, there is a huge amount of jobs in Queensland and all over Australia and our friendly team at Agri Labour Australia is ready to connect you with the best jobs while also doing our best to help you reach your travel goals #winnning!

From the rainforests and islands of the tropical north, down to the central and southern coasts where the beaches are plenty or out west where the sunsets are like no other, wherever you go in Queensland there’s rewarding farm work to be had in a location that’s sure to tick your dream destination.

There’s no time to waste! Get yourself vaccinated, grab your passport and your friends and jump on a plane to one of the world’s most sought after to work, travel and play!

It’s been a huge year on the safety front, with December being no exception. While many businesses are winding down for the Christmas and holiday period, many farms (and ALA) are getting ready for the biggest season of the year.

Statistically, December is the most dangerous month of the year for workplace deaths so it’s absolutely vital we remain even more vigilant than usual to make sure we keep ourselves and our colleagues safe.

Over the last few weeks, the safety team have been working closely with clients and their safety personnel to assess job sites and their safety processes. This critical part of our business has been developed and refined to ensure that we ONLY work with businesses that make staff safety of the highest priority. We simply will not compromise on this issue and there are times that we are unable to move forward with some clients due to their unacceptable safety standards. It might not always be the most popular decision, but we know it’s the right one.

The safety team has also been busy developing Safety Training for our Account Managers. This training is aimed at building on our staff’s existing safety knowledge and equipping them with better understanding across hazards and risks, injury response, inspections, compliance, onboarding and more. Our motto is ‘Nobody can ever know enough about safety!’

Over the last twelve months, the safety team undertook 78 site inspections, made a lot of process changes and introduced some great new resources to the safety space. We have developed and implemented our Injury Hotline Australia wide, which provides 24/7 access to ensure our workers will receive fast medical treatment no matter where they are.

We have also formed a partnership with ‘Recovre’ for occupational rehabilitation services. This service provides specialised support for injured workers to help people return to work at full capacity sooner by ensuring they receive the best treatment from specialists.

Finally, as we enter into the summer holiday and major harvest seasons, we want to highlight some of the key safety issues:

• La Nina weather event – increased rain fall – flooding, mosquitos and dangerous driving conditions. Remember – if it’s flooded forget it!
• Holiday drivers – increased drink drivers on the road. Please be aware!
• Temperature – heat exhaustion and dehydration especially for those working outside. Hydrate!
• Fauna and flora – Snakes, spiders, breeding season for some attacking birds and hay fever

It’s everyone’s job to keep strangers, those you know, work with and love safe. Please remain aware at all times and enjoy a wonderful and SAFE holiday season!

As 2021 draws to a close, it’s time to take a look at the year that has been!

Covid-19 has remained front and centre across the world and continues to challenge so many industries, including Australian agriculture. With thousands of fantastic jobs on offer all over the country, we hope to see many more of our wonderful Working Visa Holders and backpackers arriving in Australia in 2022 to support our farmers who are missing this amazing workforce of people!

As always in this big country of ours, weather has been a huge factor and yet again, we’ve seen drought affected areas becoming badly flooded by heavy rains at the end of the year. It has been extremely hard for many fruit and vegetable growers and in some places, the grain harvest was stopped due to this weather. However, with bumper grain crops still needing harvesting and the return of sunny skies, it’s back to business as usual for the many people we have working hard on our clients’ sites.

While it has been a tough year for ag, there has been plenty of positives along with more than a few changes to the ALA team. We have been embracing this change, with each one of our new staff members bringing their own set of great skills and a fresh perspective that will see the business continue to evolve and build on the great work we do.

Moving forward into 2022, we will be relocating our Brisbane head office from Kelvin Grove, down the road to Fortitude Valley, which will give our team some much needed extra office space!

Lastly, it should be said that Agri Labour Australia wouldn’t be here without all our fantastic clients and candidates. We work with some of the very best people in the industry and know that we have the best workers in the country! We appreciate each and every person and wish to pass on our sincere thanks for supporting our business and for your role in making a difference to Australian agriculture.

Stay safe friends and have a wonderful holiday season wherever you are and whatever you do.

See you in 2022!

The recent weather events across Queensland saw an unprecedented rainfall across the coast and rural areas of the state. Goondiwindi (our hometown and one of ALA’s office locations) experienced severe flooding, which has had a huge impact on the community and on the current harvests and agriculture industries located in the region.

Regional Manager Goondiwindi, Michelle Sleeth’s home and many other local properties were virtually turned into islands from the flood waters. Michelle said ‘Personally, we were so lucky but what is also great is that even though the town was completely cut off due to the floods, it was also pretty much saved from major damage by a 65 year old levy that has stood the test of time. Unfortunately for farmers, it’s been pretty tough with rain and flood waters affecting their crops.’

Reflecting on the last few years, Michelle added, ‘Many people are only just recovering from the drought so it’s vital that our famers get all the support they can.’

While extreme weather is constant for farmers and rural areas, it hasn’t put a dampener on people’s humour or creativity when it comes to getting work done.

One of ALA’s cotton growing clients had to re plant due to crop losses from the recent flooding. With most of Goondiwindi still cut off, a bit of country ingenuity that saw the seed transported via road, where it was then met by boat and jetski to help get it to its much anticipated destination!

We reckon that’s some great community spirit just in time for the festive season!

How’s your sense of adventure? Is it in need of a big ‘pick me up’ after the doldrums of lockdowns and the challenges of Covid restrictions? Or perhaps you’re weighing up possible career options after finishing school or leaving a job.

As any backpacker jobs Australia, local or grey nomad jobs will tell you, the team at ALA are the way to go if you’re looking for seasonal agriculture roles that allow you to travel and experience different types of farm work. Right now, we are beginning to recruit for three major upcoming harvests including, almonds, rice and hops.

Although there are almond, rice and hops crops grown in many parts of Australia, our agriculture clients are predominately based in NSW, Victoria and South Australia.

Almonds

Almond Recruitment and Almond harvest commences in February and usually continues through until April. Almonds are the biggest of the three harvests and takes place in various states and towns including Renmark South Australia and the expansive Sunraysia region of Victoria.

Rice

The work for rice harvest commences in January when there is plenty of activity in preparation for the actual harvest which starts in mid-February when large rice receivals begin. The rice harvesting season usually goes through until May and is located in NSW in the towns of Leeton, Deniliquin and Colembally.

Hops

Hops harvest starts in February and lasts through until April and is located in Australia’s beautiful alpine area of Myrtleford in Victoria. Hops harvest is not only great, but also offers one of the best environments in which to work. The area has much to offer with extensive National Parks, a thriving rural town with a great social atmosphere and excellent accommodation options.

Why Choose ALA?

At Agri Labour Australia, we make it simple for people to apply for harvest work through our streamlined recruitment processes. You can also be reassured that your employer has been screened to ensure that you are working in a safe environment and will be paid on time each week at competitive rates.

Our recruiters are always contactable should you need some support or questions answered and we also have an ALA team member regularly onsite to make sure our people are being treated well and the work is what you have agreed to.

We also like rewarding good work with staff incentives and making sure you are connected with another great job or even a supervisory position if you’ve really performed well! Just read the awesome Facebook reviews from our candidates if you need more convincing.

Sign me up!

We know, ALA is an awesome company to work for and so will you! So, to get the process started, simply visit our Upcoming Harvests page and register your details. Once done, one of our recruitment consultants will be in touch to ask you some questions and get you started on your new Agri labour jobs and agriculture career journey!

With Australian agriculture’s biggest harvest months literally on our doorstep, the recent announcements regarding the entry of skilled workers into the country, couldn’t have come at a better time.

Officially announced by the federal government on 22 November, the changes mean that, ‘From 1 December, 2021, fully vaccinated eligible visa holders will be able to come to Australia without needing to apply for the ABF Travel Exemption.’

So, what does this mean for the Australian agriculture industry? Casey Brown, Managing Director of Agri Labour Australia said, ‘This is a very good outcome, and I think many people in ag will feel the same way. The exodus of Working Holiday Visa holders over the last 18 months has put enormous pressure on an industry that was already facing a significant skills shortage, so this is a big step in the right direction.’

Casey added, ‘It’s just fantastic that we will soon be welcoming people who are specifically wanting to come to Australia to do agricultural work. The key now, is how quickly and seamless the visa holders can arrive.’

Under these arrangements, overseas workers must:

• Be fully vaccinated with a completed dosage of a vaccine approved or recognised by Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA);
• Hold a valid visa for 1 of eligible visa subclasses;
• Provide proof of vaccination status;
• Present a negative Covid-19 PCR test taken within 3 days of departure;
• Travellers to Australia must comply with the quarantine requirements in the state or territory of their arrival, and any other state or territory to which they plan to travel.

The team at Agri Labour Australia are already being inundated with enquiries by international residents who are keen to come to Australia for a working holiday or bring their much needed skills to the country.

Casey said, ‘The volume of international enquiries regarding the availability of work in this last day shows just how much people want to come and work in Australia.  Being able to continue to support our clients and candidates while making a difference to the agriculture industry is what ALA is all about and we applaud the federal government for stepping in and getting this happening.’

For more information visit: https://covid19.homeaffairs.gov.au/vaccinated-travellers

It’s time to meet ALA’s Lily Brown. Having joined the team a little while ago, Lily is an Account Manager based in our Kelvin Grove office but is always happier when she’s heading west to the wide open spaces of the country.

Having spent a portion of her childhood on her family’s Queensland cattle property in Warwick, Lily has been riding horses before she could walk. A huge lover of polo, prior to joining us, Lily spent two years working as a polo groom where she travelled throughout Queensland, NSW and over to New Zealand with a professional polo team.

With her easy going manner, commitment to getting things done and her ability to strike up a conversation with anyone from any age or background, Lily is already forging a brilliant reputation with our clients.

We are excited to watch Lily go from strength to strength as she builds her career in an industry that’s close to her heart. Here’s a few more facts on Lily:

Name: Lily Brown

Role: Account Manager

Office location: Kelvin Grove

What drew you to working with ALA?

I have a keen interest in all things agriculture, and I like the diversity of the clients Agri Labour Australia has. From seafood processing to cotton production and everything in between, I’m always interested in how the industry works.

What skills (unique or otherwise) do you bring to your role?

A general understanding of the agricultural industry, a bit of a different background having spent half my time in the country, and half in the city.

What are you enjoying about working with ALA?

The people! So many friendly faces to welcome me into life at ALA. I’m also really enjoying learning new things about the recruitment side of agriculture.

Would you like to tell us about your family? (optional)

My mum is a journalist turned real estate agent, who has several magazines based between Brisbane and the Darling Downs. Dad previously worked in the wine industry, now retired, he has a keen interest in beef cattle production/sales. My younger brother works as a diesel mechanic.

What are your hobbies and interests?

I have been riding horses since I could walk, with the sport of polo being my main interest. I also thoroughly enjoy working with young horses – I enjoy the challenge that comes with a horse that has limited education.

Favourite place in Australia and why?

Anywhere in the country! As much as I enjoy aspects of city living, I prefer the wide open spaces and fresh air that the country provides.

What are you looking forward to in 2022?

Learning and improving in my role at Agri Labour Australia, meeting new people, getting to know my clients and travelling to see more of rural Australia.

Every day is National Ag Day at Agri Labour Australia! And while we may not actually ‘celebrate’ National Ag Day each day, our team certainly lives, loves and breathes agriculture every single day of the week!

This year’s #AgDayAU theme is all about celebrating the fabulous and fulfilling career opportunities on offer in the agriculture industry – time to choose your #AgVenture!

Australian agriculture offers endless possibilities with some of the best scenery and job options available. The incredible diversity of Australia’s landscapes make it one of the most desirable places to visit anywhere in the world – it’s why (before Covid-19 shut our borders) hundreds of thousands of backpackers hit our shores to take up their very own #AgVenture.

Australia has always been a place of interest for international travellers, but more and more school leavers and every day Aussies are choosing to explore their own backyard and try their hands at working in agriculture. Visit any cattle station or outback town and you’ll find more than one happy local who went looking for a short term adventure and are still there because they love the work, the people, the excitement, and the lifestyle – not to mention the spectacular scenery.

From mango harvesting in the Northern Territory and Queensland to grain, rice and almond harvests in the Riverina region of NSW and regional areas of Victoria, all the way down to cherry picking or aquaculture in Tasmania – we literally have something to suit and excite everyone! If you’ve done a great job, we’ll be sure to connect you with another great employer in another fantastic destination doing well paid farm work.

If adventure is calling you, then get in touch with us to see how we can help you take you on a lifetime of #AgVenture!

Site visits are and will always be, a priority for the Agri Labour Australia team. Staying connected through face to face meetings is a vital part in understanding what’s really happening for our clients and candidates.

While many of our team have been raised in rural and regional areas, some have not and it’s an important part of a recruiter’s job to learn firsthand about the agriculture industry, a client’s business and where our candidates will be working.

Site visits are an integral part of ALA’s client service and enable us to build those all important relationships, while getting to the heart of the challenges and needs of our clients. In addition to supporting our clients, we are also there to see our candidates in action. On site visits, we can assess how people are performing, the safety of the environment, what the role is really like and how they are being treated.

Not being able to make many site visits during the Covid-19 restrictions was a challenge for many of our team who thrive on getting out to see their clients. Now, with borders opening and Australian agriculture entering into its busy summer season, some of our newer ALA team members have been hitting the road and visiting parts of rural Australia for the very first time!

With the Australian grain harvest building momentum, a few of the boys headed out to Goondiwindi to learn more about what working on a grain site is really like for both the operators and the workers.

Recruitment Consultant Kyle Bradford said, ’We’ve been recruiting for a lot of different grain clients, so it was really good to get some firsthand knowledge and actually be on the ground to see how it all works. The more information the better when recruiting – that way we can provide candidates with the details to paint a truer picture of the job.’

It was the first time on a grain site for two of the team who both enjoyed the experience of jumping into a header and chaser bin to see how the machine works. They also spoke with various workers and ALA candidates to learn how they were finding the work.

Kyle said, ‘I couldn’t believe how happy everyone was. They’re working 12 hour days, but even though it can be hard, they were all smiling and loving the work. It was also cool to see how the machines and people work so cooperatively to get the job done – it’s serious but everyone also has fun.’

Agri Labour Australia are always ready to welcome new staff and candidates to our agriculture recruitment team. Just like the grain harvest, we work hard but we also know how to have a good time! For more information, visit our website for upcoming roles.