Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme

The predecessor of the PALM scheme, the Pacific Seasonal Worker Pilot Scheme, began in 2008 as a pilot program to bring unskilled and low-skilled workers from Pacific island countries to work in the Australian agricultural sector. The pilot program initially had low take-up from workers, which was attributed to a lack of awareness among employers and a lack of demand for additional agricultural labour due to an existing supply of backpackers employed in the sector on working holiday visas and widespread illegal employment in the sector.{{cite news |last1=Bennett |first1=James |title=Backpackers, illegal labour cruelling Seasonal Worker Program for islander countries: World Bank |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-02-18/backpackers-cruelling-seasonal-worker-scheme/6139280 |access-date=21 December 2024 |work=ABC News |date=18 February 2015}} But a final evaluation report gave a largely positive assessment of the pilot scheme, finding that despite its limited uptake, it had provided benefits to participants and had "met its domestic objective of assisting Australian employers in the horticulture industry with demonstrated unmet demand for labour".{{cite web |title=Final Evaluation of the Pacific Seasonal Worker Pilot Scheme |url=https://www.palmscheme.gov.au/sites/default/files/2021-08/7b329a_7eb586caf45a45cdb38766df055783f2.pdf |publisher=TNS Social Research |access-date=21 December 2024 |date=September 2011}}

In December 2011, the government announced its intention to launch a full-fledged version of the scheme, the Seasonal Worker Program (SWP). The SWP was similar to the pilot scheme in most respects, but three new sectors — aquaculture, cotton and cane — were added, and the cap on the number of workers was expanded to 12,000 over a four year period.{{cite web |last1=Doyle |first1=Jesse |last2=Howes |first2=Stephen |title=Australia's Seasonal Worker Program: Demand-side Constraints and Suggested Reforms |url=https://devpolicy.org/publications/reports/Australias-Seasonal-Workers-Program.pdf |publisher=Development Policy Centre}} In 2018, the Australian government launched the Pacific Labour Scheme (PLS), which allowed for longer-term employment than the seasonal agricultural work permitted under the SWP. In April 2022, the SWP and PLS were consolidated into the uncapped, demand-driven PALM scheme.{{cite web |title=The Long-Term PALM Scheme: Triple Win During The COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond |url=https://devpolicy.org/2022-Australasian-AID-Conference/presentations/PALM-scheme-during-COVID-19_CShilito.pdf |publisher=Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade |access-date=21 December 2024 |format=Presentation |date=2022}}{{cite web |title=Seasonal Worker Programme and Pacific Labour Scheme |url=https://www.ato.gov.au/businesses-and-organisations/hiring-and-paying-your-workers/payg-withholding/in-detail/seasonal-worker-program |website=Australian Taxation Office |access-date=29 March 2025}}

The number of PALM workers in Australia grew significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic, during which many other populations of temporary workers were barred from entry to the country. The number of participants grew from about 6,000 in 2019 to almost 35,000 towards the beginning of 2024. But participation in the scheme fell by 24% between July 2023 and July 2024, in large part due to the return of other populations of temporary workers.{{cite web |last1=Wiseman |first1=Don |title=Grave concerns for Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme |url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/pacific/534257/grave-concerns-for-pacific-australia-labour-mobility-scheme |publisher=Radio New Zealand |date=20 November 2024}} The decline has also been attributed to a set of 2024 reforms that require PALM scheme workers to be offered at least 30 hours of work per week, with agricultural employers arguing that this is overly onerous given fluctuations in their operations. The National Federation of Farmers has argued that these changes to visa rules have made it harder for agricultural employers to participate in the scheme.{{cite news |last1=Dowd |first1=Rhiannon |title=Farmers grow tired of Pacific Islander worker visa scheme |url=https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/farmers-grow-tired-of-pacific-islander-worker-visa-scheme/news-story/b4d5476236e69b0a546d437b06fbfbed |access-date=3 May 2025 |work=The Australian |date=2 January 2024}}{{cite news |last1=Malcolm |first1=Jess |title=Farmers threaten to boycott Pacific scheme |url=https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/an-actubacked-push-to-regulate-farmwork-to-trigger-mass-exodus-of-workers/news-story/c718ebb10a9bdc3e0f810a34035ec056 |access-date=3 May 2025 |work=The Australian |date=5 June 2023}} In the lead up to the 2025 Australian federal election, the Coalition indicated that it was likely to roll back these minimum working hour reforms if elected.{{cite news |last1=McKay |first1=Ben |title=Coalition plans Pacific labour review, unclear on aid |url=https://nit.com.au/23-04-2025/17554/coalition-plans-pacific-labour-review-unclear-on-aid |access-date=3 May 2025 |work=National Indigenous Times |date=23 April 2025}}

class="wikitable floatright" |+ PALM scheme workers by country of origin, August 2024
Country of origin	Number of workers
Fiji	5995
Vanuatu	5780
Solomon Islands	4820
Timor-Leste	3760
Tonga	3680
Samoa	2865
Papua New Guinea	1960
Kiribati	1605
Tuvalu	310
Nauru	35

Workers from 10 countries are eligible for the PALM scheme — Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. Participants in the short-term stream can work in seasonal agricultural jobs for up to 9 months, while participants in the long-term stream can work in Australia for between 1 and 4 years.{{cite web |title=Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme |url=https://www.dewr.gov.au/pacific-australia-labour-mobility-scheme |publisher=Department of Employment and Workplace Relations |access-date=21 December 2024}} As of August 2024, there were 30,805 PALM scheme workers in Australia, one third of whom were living in Queensland. 52% were working in farming, 39% were working in meat processing and 6% were working in accommodation and care.{{cite news |last1=Withers |first1=Matt |title=Promoted as a win-win, Australia's Pacific island guest worker scheme is putting those workers at risk |url=https://theconversation.com/promoted-as-a-win-win-australias-pacific-island-guest-worker-scheme-is-putting-those-workers-at-risk-240333 |access-date=21 December 2024 |work=The Conversation |date=22 October 2024}}{{cite news |last1=Nishitani |first1=Makiko |title=Australia's Pacific labour mobility scheme needs urgent reform |url=https://eastasiaforum.org/2024/12/06/australias-pacific-labour-mobility-scheme-needs-urgent-reform/ |access-date=21 December 2024 |work=East Asia Forum |date=6 December 2024}} PALM scheme workers make up 10% of Australia's agricultural workforce and 23% of its meat-packing workforce. The scheme has 494 participating employers, of which 102 are labour hire companies.{{cite news |last1=Amin |first1=Mridula |title='Scared' and 'helpless': Rayasi's dream of working in Australia was not what she envisioned |url=https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/palm-scheme-workers-at-risk-of-exploitation/61ytu2mt0 |access-date=3 May 2025 |work=SBS |date=27 April 2025}}

Many Pacific islanders are able to earn far more in Australia through participation in the PALM scheme than they would be able to earn in their home countries and often send remittances home to their families.{{cite web |last1=Doan |first1=Dung |last2=Dornan |first2=Matthew |last3=Edwards |first3=Ryan |title=The Gains and Pains of Working Away from Home the case of Pacific workers and their families |url=https://thedocs.worldbank.org/en/doc/8073a148cd9c02cad663b13aeeb1613d-0070012023/original/The-Gains-and-Pains-of-Working-Away-from-Home-the-case-of-Pacific-workers-and-their-families-1.pdf |publisher=World Bank |access-date=21 December 2024 |date=17 November 2023}} Long-term PALM scheme workers earned an average of $40,836 in 2020 and saved or remitted 39% of their income.{{cite journal |last1=Kanan |first1=Lindy |last2=Putt |first2=Judy |title=Safety and wellbeing in Australia's Pacific labour mobility scheme Research report |date=October 2023 |doi=10.25911/B20G-M466|journal = ANU Department of Pacific Affairs Research Reports}} PALM scheme workers sent home a total of $184 million between 2018 and 2022, while Australian employers earned $289 million in direct profit from PALM workers. Some Pacific island countries are highly reliant on these remittances; in 2022, Samoa ranked second in the world for remittances as a percentage of GDP at 33%.

The Australian government has labelled the program a "triple win" that benefits Pacific island nations, participating workers, and Australian businesses.{{cite news |last1=Gerber |first1=Paula |last2=Gosper |first2=Sarah |title=The dark side of the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme |url=https://lens.monash.edu/@politics-society/2024/05/08/1386696/the-dark-side-of-the-pacific-australia-labour-mobility-scheme |access-date=21 December 2024 |work=Monash Lens |date=8 May 2024}} Despite its beginnings in agricultural industries, the PALM scheme has been progressively expanded into new sectors beyond agriculture since its introduction, including meat processing, aged care, hospitality and retail.{{cite news |last1=Marie |first1=Johanna |title=Pacific workers move from farms to service stations in expansion of Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2024-05-23/pacific-workers-move-from-farms-to-service-stations/103878284 |access-date=21 December 2024 |work=ABC News |date=23 May 2024}}{{cite news |last1=Withers |first1=Matt |title=The Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme is helping some workers but harming others – it needs to be reformed |url=https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/pacific-australia-labour-mobility-scheme-helping-some-workers-harming-others-it |access-date=21 December 2024 |work=Lowy Interpreter |date=23 October 2024}}

Beginning in 2023, concerns began to be raised that PALM workers had begun taking advantage of a backlog in asylum applications by absconding from their employers and lodging asylum applications that would allow them to live and work in Australia for several years on bridging visas until their applications were decided.{{cite news |last1=Kelly |first1=Cait |title=Pacific Islander workers making as little as $200 a week in Australia seek protection visas for better pay |url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/jul/23/pacific-island-labour-mobility-visa-protection-visa |access-date=3 May 2025 |work=The Guardian |date=22 July 2023}} In the 2023–2024 financial year, asylum applications from the approximately 30,000 PALM workers in Australia reached 244 per month, a rate of about 3000 per year. Professor Stephen Howes of the Development Policy Centre has labelled many of these applications "bogus", pointing out that asylum applications from PALM countries, with the exception of Papua New Guinea, are almost never granted.{{cite news |last1=Howes |first1=Stephen |title=Pacific PALM workers applying for asylum in record numbers |url=https://devpolicy.org/pacific-palm-workers-applying-for-asylum-in-record-numbers-20241106/ |access-date=21 December 2024 |work=DevPolicy Blog |date=6 November 2024}}{{cite news |last1=Howes |first1=Stephen |title=Absconding for asylum: Pacific temporary workers in Australia |url=https://devpolicy.org/absconding-for-asylum-20220204/ |access-date=21 December 2024 |work=DevPolicy Blog |date=4 February 2022}}

One of the primary criticisms of the PALM scheme has been the inability for workers to change employers. Workers in the PALM scheme are typically tied to a single sponsoring employer, with limited ability to switch to a new employer. Scholars and advocates have argued that this inability to change employers enables exploitation and makes it more difficult for workers to speak up about wage theft and poor working conditions.{{cite news |last1=Withers |first1=Matt |last2=Kagan |first2=Sophia |title=Free agency is a right, not an option |url=https://devpolicy.org/free-agency-is-a-right-not-an-option-20241121/ |access-date=21 December 2024 |work=Lowy Interpreter |date=21 November 2024}}{{cite news |last1=Ferguson |first1=Adele |title=Australia's PALM working visa scheme is a 'modern day slavery risk', advocates say. The system needs to change — and fast |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-10-11/australia-palm-working-visa-scheme-exploitation-calls-reform/104450508 |access-date=21 December 2024 |work=ABC News |date=11 October 2024}} As of April 2025, 7000 PALM scheme workers had absconded from their employers over the preceding five years. Concerns regarding worker exploitation have been present since the earliest days of the scheme; the Australian Institute of Criminology published research into the potential for worker exploitation in the pilot scheme in 2011.{{cite journal |last1=Ball |first1=Rochelle |last2=Beecroft |first2=Laura |last3=Lindley |first3=Jade |title=Australia's Pacific Seasonal Worker Pilot Scheme: Managing vulnerabilities to exploitation |journal=Trends & Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice |date=November 2011 |volume=432 |url=https://www.aic.gov.au/sites/default/files/2020-05/tandi432.pdf |access-date=21 December 2024}} A 2024 report from the New South Wales Anti-Slavery Commissioner highlighted modern slavery risks associated with the scheme.{{cite web |title=Be Our Guests: Addressing urgent modern slavery risks for temporary migrant workers in rural and regional New South Wales |url=https://dcj.nsw.gov.au/documents/legal-and-justice/anti-slavery-commissioner/plans-and-discussion-papers/Be_Our_Guests_-_Addressing_urgent_modern_slavery_risks_for_temporary_migrant_workers_in_rural_and_regional_New_South_Wales.pdf |publisher=Office of the New South Wales Anti-Slavery Commissioner |access-date=21 December 2024}} Several employers have been investigated or fined for underpaying or exploiting PALM scheme workers.{{cite news |last1=Ferguson |first1=Adele |title=Modern slavery report uncovers dark side to PALM visa scheme leaving vulnerable workers homeless and destitute |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-09-23/palm-visa-scheme-exploitation-modern-slavery/104382194 |access-date=21 December 2024 |work=ABC News |date=23 September 2024}}{{cite news |last1=Sparkes |first1=David |title=Labour-hire company faces court over allegations of exploiting Pacific island workers in 416 Visa program |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2016-01-13/labor-hire-company-faces-allegations-of-416-visa-breaches/7086100 |access-date=21 December 2024 |work=ABC News |date=13 January 2016}}{{cite news |last1=Marchant |first1=Gabriela |last2=Mantesso |first2=Sean |title=Ni-Vanuatu women unite to overcome seasonal work 'nightmare' with court case against alleged sexual abuse |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-07-19/seasonal-workers-federal-court-case-perfection-fresh/103603880 |access-date=21 December 2024 |work=ABC News |date=19 July 2024}}

The scheme has also been criticised for providing workers with less access to government programs and benefits than Australian residents. The Australia Institute has published research suggesting that PALM workers are often taxed at a higher rate than Australian residents and have limited access to their superannuation.{{cite web |last1=Killen |first1=Gemma |last2=Hawking |first2=Tom |last3=Richardson |first3=David |title=PALM visas, superannuation and tax |url=https://australiainstitute.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/P1731-Palm-tax-and-super-Web.pdf |publisher=Australia Institute |access-date=21 December 2024 |date=September 2024}} Some workers have been overcharged by their employers for services like accommodation and transport, and often have deductions made from their pay to cover the cost of their flights to Australia.{{cite news |last1=Bailey |first1=Rochelle |title=Limiting possible exploitation in transportation services for seasonal workers |url=https://devpolicy.org/limiting-possible-exploitation-in-transportation-services-for-seasonal-worker-programs-20191001/ |access-date=21 December 2024 |work=DevPolicy Blog |date=1 October 2019}} PALM workers do not have access to Medicare and must take out private health insurance,{{cite web |last1=Adhikari |first1=Alexia |last2=Anderson |first2=Lilia |last3=Harrison |first3=Morgan |title=The PALM scheme: Labour rights for our Pacific partners |url=https://australiainstitute.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/P1478-The-PALM-Scheme-1.pdf |publisher=Australia Institute |access-date=21 December 2024 |date=December 2023}} and also face high remittance costs.{{cite news |last1=Collins |first1=Jessica |title=Reducing remittance costs in the Pacific Islands |url=https://www.lowyinstitute.org/publications/reducing-remittance-costs-pacific-islands |access-date=21 December 2024 |work=Lowy Interpreter |date=8 October 2023}} President of Timor-Leste José Ramos-Horta has criticised the overcharging of Timorese workers for accommodation and transport by PALM scheme employers.{{cite news |last1=Dziedzic |first1=Stephen |title=Timor-Leste president slams exploitation in Australia's PALM scheme, cites excessive living costs |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-10-09/ramos-horta-speech/104450934 |access-date=3 May 2025 |work=ABC News |date=9 October 2024 |language=en-AU}}

Pacific island leaders have expressed concerns that the scheme primarily benefits Australian businesses and that the benefits to Pacific island nations and workers are exaggerated. PALM workers in Australia make up 9% of the Tongan working age population, 5% of the working age population of Vanuatu, and 3.4% of the working age population of Samoa. This has led Pacific countries to express concerns about brain drain and the effects of the PALM scheme on their domestic economies.{{cite news |last1=Bedford |first1=Charlotte |title=Pacific labour mobility over the last year: continued growth |url=https://devpolicy.org/pacific-labour-mobility-over-the-last-year-continued-growth-20230808/ |access-date=21 December 2024 |work=DevPolicy Blog |date=8 August 2023}} Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu have all commenced reviews of their participation in offshore labour mobility schemes as a result of these concerns.{{cite news |title=Vanuatu launches action plan to address worker shortage and social problems caused by labour mobility schemes |url=https://www.abc.net.au/pacific/programs/pacificbeat/van-palm/104646434 |access-date=3 May 2025 |work=ABC News |date=25 November 2024}} Between 2018 and 2022, workers sent home $184 million in remittances, but paid $280 million in tax, rent, and day-to-day expenditures while in Australia. The scheme has also been criticised for creating social problems in Pacific countries, including families being abandoned by spouses living in Australia.{{cite news |last1=Faa |first1=Marian |title=Pacific women and children 'abandoned' by husbands working in Australia under PALM scheme |url=https://www.abc.net.au/pacific/programs/pacificbeat/pacific-women-abandoned-by-husbands-working-on-australian-farms/102553618 |access-date=3 May 2025 |work=ABC News |date=2 July 2023 |language=en-AU}} In response to these concerns, the Australian government launched a pilot program in 2023 that would allow some PALM scheme workers to bring their families with them to Australia.{{cite news |last1=Voloder |first1=Dubravka |title=Australia's PALM scheme has big changes on the horizon. Here's what you need to know |url=https://www.abc.net.au/pacific/australia-palm-scheme-changes-on-the-way/102357354 |access-date=3 May 2025 |work=ABC News |date=18 May 2023}}{{cite news |last1=Whetham |first1=Bec |title='A lot of excitement' for foreign workers set to be joined by families under visa scheme |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-01-10/pacific-worker-families-family-accompaniment-visa-palm-scheme/101829572 |access-date=3 May 2025 |work=ABC News |date=9 January 2023}}

The scheme has also received criticism for its rate of worker deaths and injuries. 29 PALM scheme participants died in the 2022–23 financial year and 233 critical incidents involving injuries to PALM scheme workers were recorded between 2020 and 2023. Between 2021 and 2023, between 10 and 14 participants died in boating and car accidents, 17 died due to medical conditions, and the cause of 17 additional deaths remained under investigation as of December 2023.{{cite news |last1=Hodge |first1=Hugo |title=PALM worker deaths increase fourfold amid expanding scheme and increasing reliance on participants |url=https://www.abc.net.au/pacific/palm-worker-deaths-rise-amid-increasing-reliance/103250688 |access-date=21 December 2024 |work=ABC News |date=21 December 2023}}{{cite news |last1=Hodge |first1=Hugo |title=At least 64 Pacific seasonal workers have died in four years. Their families are often left empty-handed |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-10-17/family-wants-answers-after-vanuatu-seasonal-worker-drowns/104474606 |website=ABC News |access-date=3 May 2025 |date=16 October 2024}} The rate of deaths among PALM scheme workers has been described as "staggering" by Abul Rizvi, former deputy secretary of the Department of Immigration.{{cite news |last1=Down |first1=Rhiannon |title=Pacific worker scheme at ‘low point’, as agriculture worker numbers fall |url=https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/agribusiness/pacific-worker-scheme-at-low-point-as-agriculture-worker-numbers-fall/news-story/05c7216aa5a58029c02b96b238dcc8dd |access-date=3 May 2025 |work=The Australian |date=14 January 2025}} In August 2024, representatives of the Fijian government announced plans to visit Australia to investigate working conditions after a Fijian woman died of a brain tumour while working at an Australian abattoir, with some former coworkers alleging that workers had faced restrictions around sick leave and access to healthcare.{{cite news |last1=Miles |first1=Daniel |title=Fijian government to meet Australian PALM workers following tragic death of Christine Lewailagi |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-08-20/fiji-government-investigates-palm-scheme-christine-lewailagi/104244032 |access-date=21 December 2024 |work=ABC News |date=20 August 2024}}

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Category:Business in Australia