The Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census of Population and Housing (Census) indicates that Broadacre farms are the largest employers in Australian agriculture.
ABARES survey data indicates that broadacre farms used a total of 196,700 workers at peak labour use in 2020–21, increasing from 178,300 workers in 2018–19. The largest broadacre farms (those earning receipts more than $1 million) accounted for 90% of this increase in workers.
Most workers used on broadacre farms at peak labour use in 2020–21 were high-skilled workers (38%), managers (24%) or machine operators (16%), with the remainder occupying semi-skilled, unskilled, administrative or professional roles such as lawyers and tradespeople. Broadacre farms include sheep, beef, cropping and mixed farms, totalling around 57% of Australian farm businesses.
Labour use on broadacre farms tends to be relatively stable from year to year compared with horticulture farms, reflecting the structure of these businesses and the roles typically performed by workers. Broadacre farms make greater use of family members and local workers who are typically employed as full time or part time workers throughout the year and employ relatively few contractors and casual staff. The wide geographical spread of the broadacre sector across Australia also means peak labour use periods such as crop sowing and harvest are more variable than in the horticulture sector.
Australian dairy farms used a total of 22,000 workers at peak labour use in 2020–21, decreasing from 26,200 workers in 2018–19. This was mainly due to a decrease in the number of operating farms, a decrease in the number of domestic workers per farm (driven by an increase in the wages required to attract Australian workers and competitive labour markets), and a reduction in the availability of overseas workers over this period.
Most workers used on dairy farms during peak periods in 2020–21 were skilled workers (43%), managers (32%) or machine operators (19%). Dairy farms employ mostly Australian workers and total labour use is relatively consistent, with minimal monthly variation compared to broadacre and horticulture farms.