Hort Innovation exists to drive a prosperous and healthy Australia by providing the best knowledge and solutions to create a world class horticulture sector

To serve this purpose and help respond to the early challenges driven by COVID 19, Hort Innovation has launched a study to understand the impacts of COVID 19 on the horticulture sector in accessing and securing their casual workforce. Indeed, the historical reliance of the sector on casual labour, among which international labour represents a significant share, is being challenged by COVID 19 restrictions, such as international border closures, restricted mobility and workplace safety requirements.

As a result, Hort Innovation has engaged Ernst & Young (EY) to conduct extensive stakeholder consultation across the sector and help build a foundational understanding of the horticulture labour market to inform discussions and potential actions to proactively support growers in a changing landscape. The study provides an 18 month outlook on the casual labour demand across different regions, to support industry discussion on longer term COVID 19 response