Stories | PALM scheme

Stories from the PALM scheme

The Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme is helping Australian businesses address workforce shortages, while supporting the economic growth of Pacific island countries and Timor-Leste.

Here you can find a range of stories showing how Pacific Australia labour mobility is benefiting employers and workers.

Bulmer Farms

Pacific and Timor-Leste workers have helped this family farm stay afloat in difficult times

Bulmer Farms in the Lindenow Valley, East Gippsland Victoria is a fourth-generation family business that has grown into one of Australia’s largest producers of fresh salad vegetables.

Simfresh

Why this family farming business decided to recruit more Pacific island women through the PALM scheme

Simfresh is a family-owned farm that employs around 100 Pacific island workers across 2 sites in Queensland and Victoria. Approximately 60% of these workers are women.

Burlington Berries

How this seasonal employer is reaping the business benefits of a diverse workforce

Burlington Berries is one of many Australian businesses that have experienced the positive impacts of employing women through the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme.

Bolton Clarke

These former tourism workers are helping fill labour gaps in the aged care sector during the COVID-19 outbreak

When Australia’s COVID-19 travel restrictions kicked in, Pacific Labour Scheme (PLS) workers Teremita Loeru, Tiein Taite and Maatai Tamaiti were stood down from their roles in the tourism industry.

Mossmont Nurseries

These workers are learning new skills in Australia – and starting new businesses in Timor-Leste

At Mossmont Nurseries in Griffith, New South Wales, seasonal workers from Timor-Leste are not only learning valuable tree-growing skills, they are also cultivating the future health and wealth of their families back home.

Regional Workforce Management

These Solomon Islanders are being supported by their employer and community in Australia

In March 2020, Stephen Tani joined the Pacific Labour Scheme (PLS) with 9 other men from Solomon Islands, and was soon recruited by RWM to work in an abattoir in Ararat, Victoria. Not long after the group had settled in, the COVID-19 pandemic struck and changed everything.

Ulandra

How this group of Tongan workers has found a home away from home on a Queensland banana plantation

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Kesaia Helu, Valeti Kolo and Viliami Kolo from Tonga are enjoying their time in Australia picking and packing fruit thanks to great workmates and a supportive employer.

Regional Workforce Management

These Fijian meat workers are staying safe and supporting their families back home

When this group of 12 Fijian meatworkers arrived in Australia in January 2020, they quickly settled into their new jobs and made connections in their local community. Neighbours gave them furniture and a TV, and they started playing footy at the local rugby club. Then in March, the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

Midfield Group

How Hana Silva from Timor-Leste is adapting to COVID-19 and supporting her community back home

In March 2020, the COVID-19 outbreak escalated into a global pandemic. Like many other Pacific labour mobility workers, Hana Silva from Timor-Leste had to quickly adapt to the new measures.

Simfresh

How this farm stayed ahead of the game during the pandemic

When coronavirus restrictions began, Simfresh – which produces almost 2 million boxes of citrus annually from farms in NSW and Queensland – was “already ahead of the game” in helping its workers stay healthy and happy during the pandemic, operations manager Luke Cini said.