The Australian Government’s new minimum hours requirement is delivering for Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme workers, with recent checks showing employers are complying with the changes.
The Department of Employment and Workplace Relations has assessed a sample of nearly a third of PALM scheme agriculture and horticulture employers with short-term workers.
It found all employers assessed are honouring the scheme’s new minimum hours obligations for workers.
Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Murray Watt said it was very pleasing to see Australian employers are doing the right thing.
“We recognise that PALM scheme workers in the agriculture and horticulture sectors are susceptible to unpredictable work hours due to the nature and seasonality of the industry,” Minister Watt said.
“That’s why we’ve made it a requirement for employers to pay workers for the equivalent of 120 hours of work over four weeks. This ensures workers, who are not allowed to pick up other work in Australia, can afford to cover their accommodation and other expenses while offering strong flexibility for employers.”
“These outcomes demonstrate that our investment in strengthening the PALM scheme is working, including through enhanced checks and balances to ensure PALM scheme workers are protected. We’re committed to listening to stakeholders and continuing to strengthen the PALM scheme to deliver for both employers and workers.”
Minister Watt and Minister for International Development and the Pacific, Pat Conroy will today address the Pacific Labour Mobility Annual Meeting in Brisbane, where they will meet with stakeholders from the scheme’s nine Pacific nations and Timor-Leste.
The PALM scheme is a significant contributor Australia’s economy, as well as the economies of Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
Latest data shows 31,230 short-term and long-term PALM scheme workers are employed in Australia across sectors including agriculture, meat processing and other critical industries. The scheme has also seen a year-on-year increase in the number of employers, and long-term PALM workers.
