I’m on a working holiday visa and started a business that makes $10,000 a week and employs people: here’s why it’s unfair to blame migrants for Australia’s problems

A migrant who started a furniture moving business and now earns $10,000 a week says it’s unfair to blame people like him for Australia’s housing crisis.

Francisco Bonifaz, 32, left Chile for Australia in early 2022 and set up a removals company in Sydney before moving to the Gold Coast and hiring staff.

The university graduate was drawn to the Australian lifestyle, after working in marketing and sales for global food giant Unilever in Chile.

The Gold Coast reminded him of his native coastal town of Vina del Mar, northwest of the capital Santiago.

“It’s the same: regular sunny days, a good summer, good waves, beautiful beaches, very beautiful,” he told Daily Mail Australia.

Mr Bonifaz was attracted to Australia’s laid-back lifestyle and he decided to take the plunge and obtain a working holiday visa after Covid restrictions were lifted.

“Chile is a very traditional and conservative country, so I always wanted to travel,” he said.

“I heard a lot of good things about Australia and decided to come and see what it was like, without knowing what to do here.

“It was fantastic and I’m really happy here. I started looking for more opportunities.”

He initially rented a Ford Transit van in January 2023 and set up a furniture moving business in Bondi, in Sydney’s east, for 11 months, before moving to the Gold Coast earlier this year.

In between, he worked as a cafe barista as hospitality firms struggled to recruit staff while many were out of work and still receiving payments under the Jobkeeper scheme.

Goat Removals Services is now focused on South East Queensland and Northern New South Wales, moving furniture from the Sunshine Coast to Byron Bay.

After getting good reviews on Airtasker and Google, his business is now able to charge $150 an hour plus GST, generating a turnover of $7,000 to $10,000 a week.

The business was so successful that he was able to purchase a Hino and Mitsubishi Fuso truck and employ six people; four full-time.

While high immigration has been identified as causing a severe shortage of rental properties and increased competition for real estate – pushing prices of both to sky-high levels – Mr Bonifaz said that long-term migrants like him have also contributed to the economy.

“A lot of immigrants are good for the country because they have their knowledge and they can show here that they are ready to grow Australia,” he said.

“They want to come here and do a good thing.

“The good thing about Australia is that it’s a country of opportunity. If you see that, you can do something good.”

Mr. Bonifaz earned a degree in business management at the Adolfo Ibáñez University in Santiago, where he met Sergio Arze, 33, who now also runs the moving company with him.

“We know the importance of taking care of your customers,” Mr. Bonifaz said.

“We know that the moving business is very, very, very stressful when it comes to moving your belongings.”

The business partners hope their good work will lead them to become permanent residents.

“I would love to, but the problem with the visa is that it’s not that easy,” he said.

Long-term arrivals make up the majority of Australian immigration, with the permanent component now capped at 185,000.

In the year to July, 432,150 net migrants moved to Australia, with international students and working holidaymakers classified as long-term arrivals of at least 12 months.