She said by cutting red tape it would ensure workers travelling to regional Australia for harvest labour could keep entitlements and wouldn’t be ripped off.
In her letter to David Littleproud, Ms Sheed said Fruit Growers Victoria had made the following recommendations:
● Cap the accommodation reimbursement at a figure of say $200 per week depending on where they are staying (most are staying on-farm or at caravan parks and budget providers, which charge between $100 and $180/week) and reduce the paperwork receipts that are needed.
● Have the grower sign-off at the end to approve accommodation, etc; no need to keep hundreds of receipts, paperwork and go through arduous forms.
●Through the Pick Shepp program, Fruit Growers Victoria can verify workers to eliminate paperwork and provide up-front reimbursement or a one-off verification at the end. A lot of these workers do not have funds and are looking for a good opportunity to make some money.
● Reduce the eligibility to either two, four or six weeks and $2000, $4000 or $6000; this will provide a better chance of attracting and retaining workers.
“Clearly there is much to be done to make the current program work better if it is to attract people to the region to pick fruit,” Ms Sheed wrote in her letter.
