The fruit pickers: inside Australia's seasonal worker program – a photo essay

The men and women who come from the Pacific to pick fruit and vegetables often do so at a high personal cost. These are some of their stories

We first started reporting for this story in early 2019. Back then the plan was to meet the people coming to Australia every year, for up to nine months at a time, to pick Australia's produce. What were they sacrificing to do so, and why?

In 18 months the story changed dramatically. When Covid-19 shut Australia's borders and grounded global flights, the seasonal worker program was thrown into disarray. Long months passed and Australia's borders stayed closed, an economic nightmare loomed, and the harvest seasons rolled in - with few people around to pick the fruit.