Data for the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme, including information about participating workers and employers, is published here and is updated monthly.
For workers, information is provided about their country of origin, the industry they are working in, their participation in the short-term or long-term PALM scheme streams, and the Australian state or territory they are based in.
For employers, information about the number and type of employers is available.
Review of PALM scheme data 
The Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR) has completed a review of the data sources and methods used to calculate worker numbers. The review uncovered issues that resulted in inaccuracies in reported worker numbers. Any PALM scheme worker numbers reported prior to March 2024 are superseded by this reporting.
The department is undertaking extensive work to recalculate historical data.
The first set of data for January to June 2024 was published on 31 July 2024. Remaining historical data (prior to January 2024) will be published by the end of September 2024.
This release of July 2024 data is the first in what will be routine monthly reporting of PALM scheme data.
Data users should note that PALM scheme activity may be affected by seasonal patterns, including the nature of work in agriculture or workers returning home for holidays. Worker and employer participation may vary from month to month. Conclusions about long-term program trends should not be made based on monthly movements on the limited time series currently available.
PALM scheme key data
Source: DEWR, PALM scheme, July 2024.
PALM scheme worker data
In July 2024:
- there were 31,950 workers participating in the scheme
- 14,760 were short-term workers and 17,190 were long-term workers.
PALM scheme workers by state and territory
Figure 1: PALM scheme workers by state and territory, July 2024
Source: DEWR, PALM scheme, July 2024. State and territory data is unavailable for some workers – these have been excluded from the above.
PALM scheme workers’ country of origin
Figure 2: PALM scheme workers by country of origin, July 2024
| Fiji | Kiribati | Nauru | Papua New Guinea | Samoa | Solomon Islands | Timor-Leste | Tonga | Tuvalu | Vanuatu |
| 6,365 | 1,665 | 35 | 1,995 | 3,040 | 4,940 | 3,750 | 3,935 | 280 | 5,950 |
Source: DEWR, PALM scheme, July 2024. All cells have been rounded to the nearest 5. As a result, the sum of values may not add to other totals.
PALM scheme workers’ participation by industry
Figure 3: PALM scheme workers by industry, July 2024
Source: DEWR, PALM scheme, July 2024. Industry data is unavailable for some workers – these have been excluded from the above.
PALM scheme employer data
In July 2024:
- there were 479 approved PALM scheme employers
- 383 employers were direct employers and 96 were labour hire companies.
More information
Published PALM scheme data is sourced from administrative records captured by the department. It includes workers on the Temporary Work (International Relations) visa (subclass 403), Pacific Australia Labour Mobility stream. Workers on the relevant Subclass 408 visa holders (pandemic event) have been included where possible.
PALM scheme data is also available on data.gov.au, the central source of Australian open government data.
Data is updated monthly, in the last week of each month.
Published PALM scheme data is rounded to the nearest 5 to ensure individual privacy is protected.
For more information, contact (pacificlabourdata@dewr.gov.au).