6 October 2026: The Queensland Tourism Industry Council (QTIC) is stepping up its advocacy on the Federal Government’s planned working holiday visa ballot. It will put direct feedback from tourism operators in front of the Government, and that feedback carries a clear message: operators are advertising to locals first and still cannot fill their roles.
Businesses from Cooktown to the Gold Coast told QTIC that without working holiday makers they would cut opening hours, turn away bookings or close. The feedback builds on QTIC’s call in September for visa settings that recognise the role these travellers play in Queensland’s visitor economy.
On 17 September, the Federal Government announced that working holiday makers who complete their regional work will no longer be guaranteed a second or third-year visa. Instead, they will go into a ballot. The ballot has 45,000 second-year places, against about 57,000 people who qualified last year, and 5,000 third-year places, against about 31,000. No start date has been confirmed, but tourism businesses are building their summer rosters now.
QTIC surveyed members between 24 September and 5 October and heard from 38 tourism businesses across 11 regions. Among those that responded:
- Every business that had advertised for local staff in the past year said the response fell short, and nearly nine in ten received very few local applicants or none
- Four in five would cut trading hours or days, or close
More than four in five would scale back, delay or cancel planned investment - Two in three expect their revenue to fall by more than 10 per cent
- For two in five, working holiday makers make up more than half of their peak-season staff
- Together, they employed more than 800 working holiday makers in the past year
QTIC CEO Natassia Wheeler said operators had done exactly what was asked of them.
“These businesses advertised to locals first. They used job boards, community pages and recruitment agencies. The applicants simply weren’t there,” Wheeler said.
“In Cooktown, on K’gari or out west, there is no local workforce waiting to be hired. If these workers don’t come, the doors don’t open.
“You can’t roster a summer season on a lottery. Operators need to know who will be working for them this Christmas, and right now they don’t.”
Kate Fraser, owner of The Seaview Cooktown, said there was no local workforce to fall back on.
“There are no local workers within a four-hour drive of Cooktown. I have used working holiday visa staff for four years and they are the only reason I am still in business,” Fraser said.
“Of the 48 working holiday staff I have employed, they usually all return to their home countries. They are not migrants.”
On K’gari, Drop Bear Adventures CEO Hana Robinson said few Australians wanted entry-level housekeeping and hosting jobs on a remote island. Without working holiday makers, guests could be asked to make their own beds and help cook dinner.
In Cairns, Cairns Aquarium CEO Daniel Leipnik said the business “could not run our restaurant and functions and events business” without working holiday makers.
A Whitsundays tour operator told QTIC that of every 30 job applicants, three were local, and two of those had “only applied to tick a box”. Eight of the operator’s last 10 hires were working holiday makers.
“This isn’t a choice between locals and backpackers,” Wheeler said. “Operators want to hire locally, and they do. Working holiday makers fill the gap that’s left, especially in the regions.
“We’re six years out from hosting the world at Brisbane 2032. This is the moment to be building our tourism workforce, not taking thousands of experienced people out of it.”
“More than 16,000 people have now put their name to protecting these visas. Operators, their staff and travellers are all telling the Government the same thing,” Wheeler said.
QTIC is calling on the Federal Government to:
- Remove the ballot: Replace the proposed ballot for second and third-year visas with a clear process that gives travellers and businesses certainty of outcome.
- Look after those already here: Let working holiday makers already in Australia, including those part-way through their regional work, apply for their next visa under the rules that applied when they arrived, rather than being pushed into the ballot.
- Plan for the opportunities ahead: Work with industry to make sure workforce settings support regional tourism, Brisbane 2032 and the investment already committed across Queensland.
“We’re not asking for an unlimited program. We’re asking the Government to look at what’s happening on the ground before it changes the rules,” Wheeler said.
QTIC is working with the Australian Tourism Industry Council and state and territory Tourism Industry Councils on a coordinated national response. Queensland operators who want to register the impact on their business are encouraged to sign the petition and write to their local Federal Member.
About QTIC
The Queensland Tourism Industry Council (QTIC) is the peak industry body and leading advocate for the visitor economy. As a not-for-profit, membership-based organisation, QTIC is committed to the growth and sustainability of tourism. It ensures that the concerns and needs of members and the broader industry inform policy debates and that businesses are strongly represented in decision-making. QTIC delivers workforce and skilling programs, advocates for attraction and infrastructure investment and provides expert advice and support, including business-development opportunities and access to vital industry insights. In doing so, QTIC fosters a professional, sustainable and resilient visitor economy that benefits communities across Queensland.
Ends.
The Comms. People provides strategic communications, public relations and media relations support to QTIC. For more information and images, please contact Jennifer or Heather at The Comms. People:
HeatherMollins | 0412 421 411 | heather@commspeople.au
Jennifer Swaine | 0438952830 | jen@commspeople.au