Settlers Tavern owner Rob Gough says visa delays and worker shortages crippling hospitality industry

Costs and delays were crippling hospitality operators across the South West and a key factor was the Federal Government’s “dysfunctional” visa process, Settlers Tavern owner Rob Gough said this week. Mr Gough’s comments come as now-Opposition Shadow Immigration Minister Dan Tehan admitted his Liberal Government moved resources out of visa processing during the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to massive backlogs. Mr Gough told the Times the housing crisis was one area affecting recruitment, while visas and sponsorships for key personnel such as chefs was the other major headache. “Government could help by walking the talk on promised Government immigration/visa assistance which we just haven’t seen,” he said. “Any business owner who’s dealt with Immigration will attest to its inherent dysfunction,” Mr Gough said. “There are plenty of documented examples of already established, temporary visa holders who’ve been knocked back, or deported based on ludicrous technicalities. “The backlog of visa applications causing massive processing delays is untenable as the hospitality industry endures a prolonged workforce crisis.” Mr Gough told the Times the “system is clearly broken”. Designated-area migration agreements were a “good idea” delivered too late, he said. As reported last week, tourism and hospitality were short nearly 10,000 workers across the State, with backpackers crucial to the industry. The biggest risk from worker shortages was the stifling of business growth and undermining the quality of hospitality offerings in key destinations, Mr Gough said. Meanwhile, operating and employment costs “continue to outpace sustainability”. Last week, The West Australian revealed more than 864,000 migration and temporary visa applications were still waiting to be processed. At the same time, it was revealed the list of occupations in demand nearly doubled in the past year — 286 compared to 153 in 2021 — and job vacancies are up 42 per cent. A Federal Department of Home Affairs spokesperson said reducing the wait-time on visa applications was “a priority” for the Labor Government. “We are committed to reducing on-hand visa applications to pre-COVID-19 levels, and have ramped up activity to accelerate processing times,” he said. In September, Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil boosted the migrant intake level 35,000 places from 160,000 in 2021-22. “The increased program will help ease the workforce and skill shortages that many industries in Australia are experiencing,” the spokesperson said. “The (current) focus is on finalising temporary and migration applications lodged outside of Australia, particularly visas for temporary work, study and visiting Australia.” Other operators said costs, wait times, and the level of paperwork required in applications all needed to be reviewed.