PALM workers currently have to be paid for at least 120 hours of work per month, but this was due to be changed to at least 30 hours a week from July 1.
But this move has been pushed back until March 31, 2026 as the Federal Government reviews the terms following consultations.
Federal Employment Minister Murray Watt said they had listened closely to PALM stakeholders, farmers, labour hire firms, unions and Pacific nations.
“Our view is it’s best to leave the PALM as they are at the moment while we better understand the impact of the changes that we’ve made,” he said.
Currently, the 120 hours can be averaged over the course of a month, meaning some weeks workers could do 20 hours and then others more than 40.
The change would see workers needed to be paid for 30 hours a week, increasing wage payments as businesses would need to account for extra hours in slower weeks, and still pay overtime in busier weeks.
Senator Watt said his department has been reviewing the scheme’s minimum hours requirement to ensure Pacific workers are adequately paid during their time in Australia.
“Having done this work to try to stop the exploitation of workers, we didn’t want to reopen the door to that again,” he said.
National Farmers’ Federation Horticulture Council executive officer Richard Shannon called the extension to 2026 is a temporary compromise, but it will still do little to ease the burden on employers.
“The Albanese Government’s commitment to tri-partism in industrial relations has been exposed as hollow, with union influence in the PALM scheme overriding industry concerns and the national interest,” he said.
“The 30-hour weekly work guarantee averaged over four weeks — despite clear warnings from horticulture employers — has made the scheme unworkable, forcing many to scale back participation.”
Mr Shannon said in a recent survey of PALM employers, the NFF found most were regularly paying top-up amounts to meet the 30-hour guarantee when averaged over four weeks, despite over the course of the placement offering an average exceeding 36 hours per week, with the weather affecting employer’s ability to meet the four-week period.
“While the PALM scheme may be an important tool of soft diplomacy in the Pacific, employers in horticulture cannot afford to carry this can. They need to make commercial decisions,” he said.
“With backpackers returning and PALM’s value eroding, the government’s failure to balance the needs of industry, workers and our strategic interests in the Pacific is now clear.”
Goulburn Valley-based Fruit Growers Victoria is also happy with the delay to the plan, with weather the top concern.
“Fruit Growers Victoria support the changes to extend the 120 hours over four weeks as it takes the pressure off producers to provide work when weather events may prevent it or put staff in danger during extreme heat or wet conditions to meet the minimum 30 hours per week,” a spokesperson said.
The PALM scheme sees workers from 10 countries around the Pacific coming to Australia to be employed across a range of sectors, including agriculture and meat processing, to fill labour gaps.
As of December 2024, there were 27,000 participants in the scheme working across almost 500 businesses.
– with AAP.
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