Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme

The Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme allows eligible Australian businesses to hire workers from Pacific island countries and Timor-Leste when there are not enough local workers available.

Employees under the PALM scheme have the same workplace rights and protections as other employees in Australia.

On this page:

Pacific Australia Labour Mobility overview

The Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR) and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) jointly administer the PALM scheme with the support of the Pacific Labour Facility (PLF).

The PALM scheme has 2 types of workers: seasonal (short-term) workers and longer-term workers.

For more information about the scheme, visit the Australian Government's Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme website.

Rights and entitlements for PALM participants

Employees participating in the PALM scheme have the same workplace entitlements and protections as all other employees in Australia.

Employees have minimum entitlements under the National Employment Standards. They may also have entitlements from an award or an agreement.

Watch our short video for information about working in Australia.

Employment information statements

Employers have to give every new employee a copy of the Fair Work Information Statement (FWIS) before, or as soon as possible after, starting a job.

Employers also have to give every new casual employee a copy of the Casual Employment Information Statement (CEIS) at the same time.

When an employee enters a new fixed term contract, they must also be given a copy of the Fixed Term Contract Information Statement (FTCIS).

These documents give new employees information about their rights at work.

Pay

There are minimum pay rates that employees must be paid, based on the work they do.

Use our Pay and Conditions Tool to find minimum pay rates.

Pieceworkers in the horticulture industry can also find information on our Horticulture Showcase about Pay and piece rates, including our Piecework rules have changed information sheet.

Our piecework information sheet has been translated into Pacific and Timorese languages to help you understand your workplace rights and obligations. You can find these at Horticulture Showcase - migrant workers.

Leave

Employees can take leave for many reasons, including to go on a holiday, because they are sick or to take care of sick family members. This is called taking leave.

Leave entitlements are different for full-time, part-time and casual employees. Find out more about the different types of employees.

Work out annual leave using our Leave Calculator.

Find out more about:

Record keeping

Employers must keep accurate and complete records for all employees and provide them with a pay slip within 1 working day of pay day.

Pay slips and records of hours worked can help employees work out the correct pay and entitlements. Our Record my hours app can help employees easily keep track of their work hours.

Find out more at Pay slips and record-keeping.

Deductions

Taking money out of an employee’s pay before it is paid to them is called a deduction.

There are limited situations when an employer can make a deduction.

Find out more at Deducting pay and overpayments.

Our resources

Arrival briefing

We give briefings to workers when they arrive in Australia to start work. These briefings are an introduction to workplace rights and obligations in Australia. If you’re a PALM scheme Approved Employer, you can contact us at PALM@fwo.gov.au to arrange a briefing for your new employees.

Short videos

We have short videos in Pacific and other languages to help you understand your rights and obligations in Australian workplaces.

Watch our Language storyboards.

Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme fact sheet

The Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme fact sheet includes information for employees about workplace rights, how we can help and useful resources.

Download the English Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme fact sheet English Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme fact sheet.

We also offer the fact sheet in the following languages:

How we can help

We’re here to help employers and employees understand their workplace rights and obligations.

An employee can't get into trouble or have their visa cancelled for contacting us to ask for information about their pay or other entitlements.

The Australian Government has introduced the Strengthening Reporting Protections Pilot and Workplace Justice Visa Pilot. These new laws strengthen reporting protections for eligible visa holders experiencing workplace exploitation, allowing workers to seek help without fear of visa cancellation. For more information visit, Visa protections – pilot programs.

For practical steps on how to fix any workplace issues which might happen – including how to ask for our help – visit Fixing a workplace problem.

If you need our help, you can:

Related information