In comparison to many others, Australia is a country that gets so much right in the workplace: a high minimum wage, an emphasis on safety, and a "fair go" culture. But one specific group of workers has not been invited to the party.

Australia currently has an arrangement with 29 countries allowing people between the ages of 18 and 30 to come to Australia for a year. Last year, a record number of working holiday visas were issued.

A few weeks ago, I realised I was seven months into a one year Australian visa and was not ready to head back to the UK just yet. Fear not! I thought. If you're willing to do 88 days worth of rural work, then the department for immigration and citizenship (DIAC) will, in most cases, add 12 months to your working holiday visa.

I left my job in Sydney and was put in contact with an organic farmer in Queensland. She has been very kind, and the work is not too strenuous. It is nice to be outside, working with animals in a tropical climate. After this stint, my host will sign the form that I need to present to DIAC, and provide her Australian business number. Done.

Seems straightforward, so what is the problem? Well, not everyone will be as lucky as I have been. If the employer decides after 88 days that they are unwilling to sign the worker’s form or they treat them unfairly, there is not much recourse.

Rural workers rarely get a contract, and rules compelling employers to pay them a minimum wage or adopt any kind of safety policies in the workplace can be easily ignored, despite it being illegal to do so. Some find they end up being paid considerably below what they should be. Workers in fruit picking roles are often paid per volume of fruit picked, which seldom amounts to an acceptable salary, despite the fair work ombudsman stating that this should not be the case.

As such, a race to the bottom has been created. Employers know that foreign workers can be hired for next to nothing, and adjust what they are willing to pay accordingly. Not only is this unfair, but it also means that local people wanting to fill low skilled jobs will find themselves unknowingly undercut by backpackers.

At this point, I run the risk of you yelling at your computer screen: “Stop moaning, if you don’t like it, you can always leave the country!” However, in practical terms, over 38,000 temporary visa workers complete rural work each year. Taking these out of circulation would cost the economies of rural areas an immeasurable amount of labour, not to mention subsequent money spent by backpackers locally.

Another poorly conceived part of the arrangement is the scope of the work that backpackers are permitted to undertake. As many are expected to be almost volunteers and do this willingly, then why not harness that spirit of altruism to benefit areas that really need it? If, for example, assisting in remote schools as a care volunteer was permitted as a choice, then you would have an endless stream of foreigners keen on the possibility of volunteering and living in the outback.

I’m grateful for the right to stay an extra 12 months in Australia, and am glad to be able to access a working holiday visa. Nonetheless, this is a practice that requires better regulation to safeguard workers and to ensure employers, and Australia, gets the most out of backpacker employees.

A standard contract and notification to DIAC when work commences and when it is due to complete would guarantee the rights of both parties. Weekly timesheets completed by workers, verified by employers and forwarded to DIAC would safeguard against discrepancies and subsequent disputes. In the interests of fairness, payment of minimum wage to employees on working holiday visas should be better enforced.

Take note Tony Abbott and the new Coalition government: migrants are important to rural Australia. We can really make a difference to businesses and local communities. Is it not fair that we get the same deal as everyone else?