Labour

Labour

Tasmania's fruit producers rely on seasonal workers for seasonal tasks including picking, sorting, packing and pruning. The number of roles available varies seasonally, growing from 300 roles in winter months to almost 8000 in January.

COVID-19 has caused disruption to the entry and movement of Australia's seasonal agricultural workforce. Our work in this area seeks to help Tasmanian fruit growers to build resilience, grow the available workforce and monitor industry recovery. This includes:

  • increasing community awareness of the opportunities available in Tasmania's fruit industries 
  • working with businesses to understand and adjust to changing COVID-19 regulations
  • working with industry stakeholders and government to support the safe movement of essential workers to Tasmania
  • attracting and recruiting new workers to the industry
  • helping businesses to look after and support the productivity of available workers
  • monitoring and informing businesses on the changing nature of the seasonal labour situation.