Desperate employers and universities have proposed new coronavirus quarantine schemes as they beg the federal government to let more foreign workers and students into the country.
A chronic shortage of farm workers - due to coronavirus border controls keeping out backpackers - has cost farmers millions of dollars as fruit and veg goes to waste without being picked.
Hospitality businesses such as pubs and restaurants are also struggling to hire as Australia s unemployment rate dips to 5.6 per cent and is expected to fall even further as the economy recovers from last year s lockdowns.
Meanwhile, the university sector remains crippled as international students - which provide up to 40 per cent of a university s revenue - are prevented from entering the country.