Farmers have hit out at suggestions that fruit picking jobs are a ready option for unemployed young Tasmanians.

The Federal Employment Minister has warned the unemployed have no right to government assistance if they refuse to take up available jobs.

Under federal budget changes, payments for young unemployed people will be withheld for six months unless they are enrolled in an approved course.

Senator Eric Abetz has again used the example of fruit picking as an industry where jobs are readily available.

He says people should not expect to be supported if they will not work.

"There are many examples of jobs in my home state of Tasmania, for example fruit picking seasonal work, dairy farm jobs and the sad thing is in Tasmania over 90 per cent of fruit pickers come from overseas," he said.

"If people can come from overseas to pick the fruit in Tasmania, one wonders potentially why young unemployed Tasmanians couldn't do the same task.

"There is no right to demand from your fellow Australians that just because you don't want to do bread delivery or a taxi run, or a stint as a farmhand, that you should therefore be able to rely on your fellow Australian to subsidise you."

'Not repositories for welfare activities'

The stance has angered the Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association's Jan Davis who says she will be taking up the issue with the minister.

She says the fruit and vegetable industries are not the repositories for social welfare activities.

"We can't be held to deliver social welfare outcomes within a business structure," she said.

"If the Government wants us to be babysitters and to run these social welfare programs we will have a conversation about what's involved in that, but it won't be as a part of a commercial offering."

The youth unemployment rate in Tasmania stands at 17 per cent.

Ms Davis says fruit picking jobs are seasonal, not fulltime, and require a great deal of skill and commitment.

"These days when we pick straight into cartons in the field generally, the people who put that product in the box are the ones who are displaying it to our consumers," Ms Davis said.

"So there are really important quality control abilities that need to be held."

Last week, the Prime Minister acknowledged that the welfare changes may force young Tasmanians to leave the state to find work.

Fruit picking more suitable for transient workers

Janet Saunders from Workskills says her job agency rarely receives requests from farmers for local labour.

Ms Saunders says she does not often place job-seekers into fruit picking jobs.

"Workskills is currently assisting around 3,500 people to find a job and our experience is seasonal work is often or always in areas which has limited or no public transport," she said.

"Finding child care at short notice can also be an issue for families as well."

In a separate issue, the Fair Work Ombudsman is investigating the alleged mistreatment of fruit pickers and packers across Australia, including Tasmania.

Senior inspector Ray Smith, says the investigation will focus on non-compliance of workplace rules.

"They've been underpaid, their working conditions have not been what they expected and, in our experience, there are always reasons for this," he said.

"So rather than tackle that on an individual basis, which we do...we're trying to find out what is the root cause of people not receiving their correct entitlements."