Why does Australia want Brits to swap Sydney for the outback?

In a Mexican restaurant in north-east Australia, the nacho bowls are served by staff from France, Italy, Ireland and Argentina. Cairns has long attracted a young and transient international crowd, who enjoy the tropical lifestyle while earning money for travel. That, along with an increase in the age limit from 30 to 35 saw backpacker visas issued to Brits surging from 47,200 in 2023-24 to just over 77,000 in 2025-26, according to the latest Australian government data.

Without the incentive to go regional, many are choosing to base themselves in the big cities, or, according to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, "Bondi or Coogee" - two of Sydney's most famous beachside suburbs. Now though, with Brits making up almost a quarter of all 323,000 backpacker visas issued last year, his government wants the free trade deal to be revisited. "Many Brits don't treat it as a working holiday anymore.

It's more a three-year career break," says Dan McConnell, general manager of the Mad Monkey backpacker hostel chain.