# Albanese to discuss British backpacker visa exemption with UK leader

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/albanese-flags-major-change-to-visa-deal-allowing-british-backpackers-to-avoid-regional-work-for-bondi-beach-or-coogee/
- Published: 2026-10-28T02:23:01+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-28T02:32:15+00:00
- Original publisher: Daily Mail (publisher lean: Right)
- Original article: https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16244097/anthony-albanese-british-backpacker-visa-regional-work-deal.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490
- Topics: Business, Culture, Markets, Travel, UK, World

## Key points

- Albanese will discuss the British backpacker visa exemption with the UK.
- British visitors can extend visas without specified regional work.
- Proposed ballots would sharply reduce third-year visa places.

## Summary

Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says he will raise a visa exemption for British backpackers with the UK Prime Minister. The arrangement lets British visitors apply for second and third-year working holiday visas without doing specified regional work, and Albanese says it has contributed to more of them taking jobs in popular coastal cities while regional employers face shortages.

The government is also proposing ballots that would limit extensions for working holiday visas from all eligible countries. The plans would offer 45,000 second-year places, compared with about 57,000 people who qualified in 2026, and cut third-year visas from 31,000 to 5,000; first-year visas would remain uncapped. Regional representatives and tourism businesses warn fewer backpackers could hurt industries that rely on temporary workers.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.