Pacific Australia Labour Mobility expansion

The Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme is available for eligible businesses to recruit workers for seasonal jobs for up to 9 months or for longer-term posts be­tween one and four years in unskilled, low-skilled and semi-skilled positions.

The Australian government has committed to expand the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme as follows:

• The scheme allows the longer-term PALM workers to bring their families into the country. It is expected to commence in 2023-2024 for up to 200 families of PALM scheme workers. The families will not have access to the Australian health system, and the employer will need to arrange additional social support.
• The government will expand the existing aged care pilot programme to support 500 PALM scheme workers in completing their Certificate III in Individual Support (Ageing).
• The government will reimburse employers for upfront travel costs that cannot be recouped from seasonal workers, minus a $300 employer contribution for workers’ flights, through no fault of the employer (e.g. due to unexpected flight changes, cancellations or where workers disengage).
• Reallocate the former Australian Agriculture Visa (AAV) programme under the PALM scheme by adjusting the scheme’s settings to reflect key features of the AAV.

Read the WTS Global Mobility Newsletter here.