Mounting calls for Ag Visa-style program as Australian Government announces $371m PALM scheme expansion

Farmers have renewed calls for a wide-ranging Agricultural Visa-style program after the Albanese Government unveiled plans this month to spend nearly $371 million “expanding and improving” Australia’s Pacific foreign worker scheme. The cash splash was announced in the Federal Budget, with $370.8m to be injected into the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme over four years. The funding — part of a $1.9 billion package to expand engagement with Pacific Island countries — will “support sustainable scheme growth and improve support for workers in line with Australian and Pacific aspirations”, according to Budget papers. “Expansion and improvement of the PALM scheme is estimated to increase receipts by $300m over four years from 2023–24,” the papers state. But the National Farmers’ Federation wants Federal Labor — which axed the former Coalition government’s fledgling Ag Visa after winning last year’s election — to “look beyond to other countries”. “Vietnam was one country keen to sign on to the Ag Visa, and despite this being scrapped, we should be looking at ways to keep them engaged,” NFF vice-president David Jochinke told Countryman. “We would like the government to seriously look at the PALM scheme and what isn’t working. “The cost and regulatory burden means it isn’t very accessible to small, family growers, and the scheme is of very little use to the many farms who require skilled or semi-skilled workers. “It would be far more meaningful to simplify the PALM and create agricultural focused visa streams.” The scheme allows eligible workers from nine Pacific Islands nations and Timor Leste to be employed for up to nine months in seasonal jobs, or four years in unskilled, low-skilled and semi-skilled positions. It was introduced by the Morrison Government in 2018, initially in a bid to plug chronic labour shortages in Australia’s $90b agriculture sector, before being expanded last December to include metropolitan meat, seafood, fruit and vegetable processors. The Australian Meat Industry Council said the scheme had been “immensely successful” and welcomed “any expansion” that would allow the sector to access a larger labour force. However, AMIC workforce services general manager Stacey McKenna said a broad range of visa programs was required. “We would urge the Government to consider expanding visa programs such as the PALM into ASEAN nations such as Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines to support industry sustainability and growth,” she said. A Cattle Australia spokesperson said the group welcomed the funding but “one solution” would “not solve all workforce shortage issues”. “Funding is needed to improve access to the scheme for (cattle) producers, who face some of the biggest hurdles in staffing their operations,” the spokesperson said. WAFarmers president John Hassell said he welcomed any move to bring more workers into Australia, but questioned why the Federal Government was only focused on the Pacific region. “I think we should be looking at people everywhere who want to come and have a go,” he said. Australia was home to more than 37,000 PALM workers as of April 1 according to the Department of Education, Skills and Employment. Queensland accounted for about 13,490, followed by Victoria (7030), NSW (5870), Tasmania (4480), WA (3520), South Australia (2330), Northern Territory (1050) and the ACT (30). Nationwide, about 71 per cent were employed in “horticulture/agriculture”, 24 per cent in meat processing, 2 per cent in accommodation, 2 per cent in residential aged and disability care, with a “small number” of workers in other industries. About 11,000 workers hailed from Vanuatu, followed by Tonga (6230), Fiji (4850), Samoa (4660), Solomon Islands (4320), Timor Leste (4270), Papua New Guinea (1290), Kiribati (1080), Tuvalu (80) and Nauru (20).