The Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme allows eligible Australian businesses to hire workers from 9 Pacific islands and Timor-Leste when there are not enough local workers available. Through the PALM scheme, eligible businesses can recruit workers for short-term jobs for up to 9 months or long-term roles for between one and 4 years in unskilled, low-skilled and semi-skilled positions.
The PALM scheme helps to fill labour gaps in rural and regional Australia and nationally for agriculture and select agriculture-related food product manufacturing sectors by offering employers access to a pool of reliable, productive workers. It also allows Pacific and Timor-Leste workers to take up jobs in Australia, develop their skills and send income home.
The Australian Government is working with the French State and Government of New Caledonia to enable New Caledonia's potential entry to the PALM scheme. More information will be shared in due course.
General information is available at PALM Scheme | Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (homeaffairs.gov.au).
For information on travel to and from Australia, including immigration (visas) and proof of exit and travel records to Australia, Australian citizenship, border protection, the Tourist Refund Scheme (TRS), Biosecurity-Customs, and how to contact Home Affairs, please read the Home Affairs information available at Home Affairs - Immigration Citizenship and Border Protection. If you require further information or assistance, please speak to the Home Affairs multilingual Global Services Centre (GSC) directly. The Home Affairs multilingual GSC is open Monday-Friday from 9am to 5pm (except Australian national public holidays):
- The Home Affairs multilingual GSC can be contacted directly on +61 2 6196 0196 (outside Australia) or on 131 881 (in Australia). Alternatively, callers from New Caledonia or Wallis-and-Futuna can call +687 27 24 14 and press option 2, from Monday to Friday from 9am to 4pm (except local public holidays).
- the Home Affairs phone options are provided in English but if you prefer to speak with someone in your language, press 6 and say your language in English (for French-speakers, say “French”) and confirm “Yes” when prompted. If the operator speaks to you in English, keep saying your language in English to be put through to an interpreter.
Home Affairs does not have an office at the Australian Consulate-General in Noumea. The Australian Consulate-General in Noumea will not respond to Home Affairs enquiries and will not escalate these to Home Affairs.