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🇦🇺 Australia /Economy & Trade

This abattoir wants to hire 60 people, but only one Australian applied

From ABC Australia · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • A Western Australian abattoir near Broome received only one local response to an advertisement for 60 skilled positions, delaying its planned reopening.
  • The operator says visa applications for nearly 30 workers from the Philippines have stalled after new processing priorities favoured applicants already in Australia.
  • A piggery expansion near Narrogin faces similar staffing pressures, with overseas workers making up most of its workforce.

A Western Australian abattoir advertised 60 skilled jobs near Broome and received just one response from an Australian resident. The applicant, according to Yougawalla Pastoral Company general manager Haydn Sale, did not have the required skills.

We've had to move [that date] back because the skilled meatworker visas that we've applied for are basically held up in the system.

· Haydn SaleThe abattoir manager explained why the planned reopening has been delayed.

Sale’s company is helping reopen the facility, formerly known as the Kimberley Meat Company, after years of inactivity. But the reopening has been pushed back because visa applications for almost 30 skilled workers from the Philippines, along with 13 partners, remain in the system. The company paid A$390,000 in visa fees and is now waiting for the applications to be processed.

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke issued a new five-tier visa processing hierarchy in July. It gives strong preference to applicants already in Australia, while overseas applicants seeking work in industries outside law enforcement, defence, construction, healthcare and teaching receive the lowest priority.

We paid $390,000 in visa fees to get those people in, and now we're just in a holding pattern on that.

· Haydn SaleSale described the financial cost and uncertainty caused by the delayed visa applications.

The abattoir had hoped to open in 2026, but the soft opening is now scheduled for February and full commercial operations for April. Thousands of cattle are waiting to be processed. Sale said about 6,500 cattle had been prepared for processing late in the year, and the company must now find alternative arrangements for them.

We've got a whole supply chain that was lined up on the stations.

· Haydn SaleHe said the delay affects cattle producers waiting to send animals for processing.

A pork producer near Narrogin is facing the same problem while expanding a piggery from 1,500 to 2,500 sows. Dawson Bradford said overseas workers account for 90% of the piggery workforce and more than half of all employees at his 5,000-hectare mixed farming business. He said the workers are needed because they want to live and work in rural areas.

We had about 6,500 cattle ready to process through late in the year that we're now having to find homes for.

· Haydn SaleSale gave the number of cattle affected by the delayed reopening.
About this summary

Originally published by ABC Australia in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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