Overview
- The Scanlon Foundation Research Institute’s Improving PALM report details recurring exploitation, gaps in basic rights, and policy shortfalls in the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme.
- The report faults employer‑tied visas for limiting worker mobility and recommends easier job changes, national regulation of labour hire, simpler employer rules, and access to Medicare.
- Researchers note PALM workers lack Medicare and often delay treatment because private insurance typically does not cover GP visits.
- The Department of Employment and Workplace Relations acknowledges the report and says workers can already transfer to another approved employer when concerns arise.
- About 32,000 workers from nine Pacific countries and Timor‑Leste fill roles in agriculture, meat processing, and aged care, with employers and officials defending the scheme’s economic and diplomatic value while calling for improvements.