The Australian government will spend $8 million assisting Pacific workers and their families managing separation through the PALM scheme.

Around 35,000 workers are recruited by Australia from the Pacific and East Timor through the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility program.

PALM is intended to both alleviate labour shortages in Australian industries such as agriculture and meat processing, and support Pacific workers find employment and send remittances back to their home countries.

“The palm scheme, when done properly is truly a win-win,” Australia’s Pacific Minister Pat Conroy said.

“It’s a win for Australia. It’s a win for the Pacific workers, and it’s a win for their community.”

The scheme has also led to exploitation of workers by some businesses and families spending long stretches apart.

The latter concern has led to the Tuesday’s announcement, which will see the UN’s International Organisation of Migration funded to provide support in three countries as a pilot.

“This will include pre-departure training of courses for families, as well as courses upon return of the worker to support reintegration into their community,” Mr Conroy said.

“This is all about supporting families and individuals to make the most of the opportunity and deal with the challenges involved with it.”

Mr Conroy said the average long term PALM worker sends home $15,000 a year into a region where half of the population lives on $1,000 a year.

International Organisation of Migration director general Amy Pope praised the PALM scheme, and the new changes.

“We think this is a model that could be used in other parts of the world,” she said.

“We think this is a way to enable better development outcomes, both within Australia, which needs migration in order to continue its own development and its own workforce needs, but also for the communities of the Pacific.”

Australia has erected new guardrails to prevent worker exploitation, including spending $200 million on compliance.

Workers also now receive mandatory hours and an income guarantee so they are “paid the same as an Australian doing the job next to them”, according to Mr Conroy.

Ben McKay
(Australian Associated Press)