Why is It so hard to obtain a visa to go to Australia to work?

Question

Come on, I just want to work!

Answer 1

It's so hard to get work here because we try to avoid ignorant people like A decent son in law from residing here. As far as Australians being racist to non-whites, it is clear to me that perhaps you are the one that is not too fond of higher education. Have you not travelled anywhere in this wide world? You find racism in every part of this vast world and throughout all my travels in the entire world, i have found Australia to be one of the most tolerant and accepting countries - ever. We may have originated from convict stock, but our country never practised slavery so i am sure there is much, much more racism in your part of the world. People from other countries tend to find it a shock when they come here as the population is predominately white, but we pride ourselves on the fact that we are inclusive and tolerant of everyone, regardless of religion, race, creed etc.
We do tend to refer to americans as "bloody yanks" because they do not fit into this image of Australia where everyone has a fair go and we're all equal, they tend to think that they are far superior, not just over us poor Aussies who live so far away from everything and are obviously backward and uneducated, but over all nations.
Anyway, back to your question of why is it so hard to get a working visa, if you are from the US it is because you do not have a reciprical agreement with our fine country to allow ease in gaining a work visa. People from the UK, Canada etc will have a much easier time. If you are highly skilled, that is something that is needed at the moment, if you are looking for basic jobs like barwork, temping etc, then i don't think you'll have much luck. I am not really sure if you can gain a working holiday visa at all though, because your country is not on the scheme (assuming you're from the US).
Maybe you'll need to marry an Aussie or a Kiwi, they all come here!

Answer 2

It depends on who you are and what type of work you want to do. It is relatively easy for young people to get a visa for a working holiday and also for people with skills that are in short supply.
Have you checked the Department of Immigration web page at http://www.immi.gov.au

The writer above said that racism was more prevalent in Australia than in the USA. That I very much doubt. One thing you will find is that religion is a private affair in Australia and in the main people don't care who or what you worship. We see far less religious intolerance and bigotry here.

Unfortunately, that doesn't apply to Moslems. Our current government strongly supports Bush and has an anti-Moslem stance. This is reflected in the attitudes of some people towards the Moslems in the community. The good thing is that the current lot will be thrown out of office at the election later this year.

Answer 3

It's tough to obtain immigration or work permit/visas to many countries. Could the work be that much better than your own country that you want to work there? I lived in Australia when I was young, and as an American I found many people did not like Americans very much. They referred to us as "bloody yanks". I find that Australians can be friendly, yet they are as a whole not terribly fond of higher education. The stereotypes of the heavy drinking aussie are in fact true. I lived in Brisbane and Perth. Maybe if I lived in a more civilized are then I would have found the opposite. Australians are also quite prone to hating immigrants who are not white. Racism is much more prominent there than I find it here in America. Well that's just my opinion. New Zealand is a much more cultured country with highly intelligent folk who have a history of pioneering technological advancements. Australia you must remember was originally a penal colony and it's descendents are from that lineage.