Labor's working holiday visa policy risks regional seats, experts say

Italian backpacker Rocco Raseri's visa for a third year is no longer guaranteed. ( ABC Far North: Rosanne Maloney )

A political marketing expert says key Labor seats in Queensland are dependent on working holiday visa staffing and are highly impacted by the system changes.

Backpackers in the state's far north are reportedly already leaving the region or saying they would not have stayed if they had known.

Experts say Labor risks losing the next federal election if it does not make a public plan.

After six months working as a chef in a Far North Queensland kitchen, Rocco Raseri should from today be eligible for his third year working holiday visa.

However, under the federal government's changes to the system , the number of spots up for grabs has gone from 31,000 last year, to now just over 5,000.

"With this uncertainty, probably I wouldn't even have done these six months of work," the 27-year-old Italian backpacker said.

"That is a lot [of time working] to not even get the opportunity to stay here."

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