The Albanese government has quietly deferred a key worker-protection measure under the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme, pushing a promised 30-hours-per-week pay guarantee out to July 2026. An AAP syndicated report in The PNG Bulletin on 30 October says the decision means the current rule—120 paid hours averaged over four weeks—will remain permanent.
Unions and Pacific diplomats reacted sharply. The Australian Council of Trade Unions called the move “a step backwards” that will leave seasonal farm and meat-processing workers vulnerable to under-employment and debt. Fiji’s Employment Minister Agni Deo Singh told reporters his government is in talks with Canberra to introduce direct-remittance deductions after welfare teams recorded 129 Fijian workers failing to send money home.
Business groups welcomed the delay, arguing that horticulture and regional hospitality rely on flexible rostering around weather and demand. Growers said the 30-hour floor would have forced overtime costs in peak harvest weeks.
For mobility managers the change removes immediate payroll-compliance pressure but extends legal ambiguity over minimum earnings. Employers must still prove they offered at least 120 hours per month—including in wet-weather shutdowns—and provide payslips to PALM liaison officers. Companies planning 2026 harvest seasons should model higher wage bills if Canberra reinstates the weekly guarantee then.
The episode highlights a broader tension in Australia’s migration strategy: balancing worker-protection optics with industry calls for labour flexibility amid chronic staff shortages.
Unions and Pacific diplomats reacted sharply. The Australian Council of Trade Unions called the move “a step backwards” that will leave seasonal farm and meat-processing workers vulnerable to under-employment and debt. Fiji’s Employment Minister Agni Deo Singh told reporters his government is in talks with Canberra to introduce direct-remittance deductions after welfare teams recorded 129 Fijian workers failing to send money home.
Business groups welcomed the delay, arguing that horticulture and regional hospitality rely on flexible rostering around weather and demand. Growers said the 30-hour floor would have forced overtime costs in peak harvest weeks.
For mobility managers the change removes immediate payroll-compliance pressure but extends legal ambiguity over minimum earnings. Employers must still prove they offered at least 120 hours per month—including in wet-weather shutdowns—and provide payslips to PALM liaison officers. Companies planning 2026 harvest seasons should model higher wage bills if Canberra reinstates the weekly guarantee then.
The episode highlights a broader tension in Australia’s migration strategy: balancing worker-protection optics with industry calls for labour flexibility amid chronic staff shortages.
