The Ultimate Farmer’s Guide to the Seasonal Worker Programme (And PALM Scheme)

When labour needs go unmet, it can create a serious issue in any industry. This is especially true in the agriculture industry if, as a farmer, you cannot fill the positions necessary to make sure that your business runs efficiently and can meet the supply demanded of it. That is where the Palm Scheme (Seasonal Worker Programme and Pacific Labour Scheme) aims to help. Below we will give you the critical information you need to see if the program is right for you and get you ready to complete your application.

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1. What Are The Different Programs and Acronyms?

There are two programs, the Seasonal Worker Programme and the Pacific Labour Scheme, which come under one program called the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM).

2. What is the PALM scheme?

The PALM scheme is an initiative created by the Australian Government that provides employers with reliable workers from countries in the Pacific Islands and Timor-Leste. The scheme’s goal is to assist these employers with the unmet labour demands they face. It is commonly used in horticulture, aquaculture, cane, cotton, and other agriculture industries. Workers can be provided for up to nine months and can be recruited from the countries of:

3. How Does the Seasonal Worker Programme and Pacific Labour Scheme (PALM Scheme) Help Farmers?

The PALM scheme helps farmers by providing a solution to labour shortages, and also by increasing productivity.

A recent survey by the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ABARE) found that the productivity of PALM seasonal farm workers was, on average 20 per cent higher than that of backpackers in the horticulture industry.

Anecdotally, PALM employers consistently report that PALM workers are reliable, positive, and hardworking.

4. What is the Difference Between the Seasonal Worker Program and Pacific Labour Scheme?

The main differences are set out below.

Seasonal Worker Programme

Pacific Labour Scheme

5. Can I Use The Seasonal Worker Programme and the Pacific Labour Scheme?

Yes, you can use both the Seasonal Worker Programme and the Pacific Labour Scheme at the same time.

6. How Much Does it Cost?

There are many upfront costs for employers, many of which may be deducted from seasonal farm workers’ pay (however these deductions must be transparent and clearly set out before recruitment).

Direct Costs (Deductible From Seasonal Farm Worker Pay)

Some of the direct and deductible costs include:

Direct Costs (Not Deductible)

Indirect Costs

7. How do I use the Seasonal Worker Programme and PALM?

Farmers who want farm workers from the Seasonal Worker Programme or Pacific Labour Scheme (or PALM) can:

8. How Do I Become an Approved Employer?

To become an approved employer you must:

  1. Meet the eligibility requirements.
  2. Decide on the program.
  3. Apply to become an approved employer.
  4. Receive approval (if successful).
  5. Become An Approved Temporary Activities Sponsor
  6. Sign a Deed of Agreement.

8.1. Meet the Eligibility Requirements

The eligibility requirements to become an approved PALM scheme employer are that you must:

8.2. Decide on the program

For the time being, the Seasonal Worker Programme and Pacific Labour Scheme are still administered separately which means you still need to apply for one or the other, or both.

8.3. Apply to Become an Approved Employer

You must apply on the PALM website.

Questions you will need to address in your application include:

8.4. Wait To Be Assessed

It will take six to eight weeks for your application to be assessed.

8.5. Become An Approved Temporary Activities Sponsor

If your application is successful, you must become a temporary activities sponsor (TAS) through the Department of Home Affairs.

The application is to sponsor an applicant for a Temporary Work (International Relations) visa (subclass 403) under the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme.

To apply you first need to create an Immi account with the Department of Home Affairs.

The application can then be made by selecting “New application” in your Immi account, the “Temporary Work (Activity)”, then “Temporary Work (International Relations) Visa”.

8.6. Sign a Deed of Agreement

If your temporary activities sponsor application is successful you can then finalise yourself as an approved employer by executing a Deed of Agreement with the DESE (for the Seasonal Worker Programme) and/or a Deed of Agreement with the DFAT (for the Pacific Labour Scheme).

9. What Are The Responsibilities of an Approved Employer?

The responsibilities of an approved employer are outlined in the Deed signed in the final stage of becoming an approved employer.

The (very) broad responsibilities include:

10. What Are The Steps to Recruit?

Once approved, the following steps must be followed to recruit workers under the Seasonal Worker Programme and Pacific Labour Scheme.

  1. “Labour Market Testing”.
  2. Submit a “Recruitment Plan”.
  3. Recruit suitable workers.
  4. Visa approval.
  5. Provide an Offer of Employment.

10.1. Labour Market Testing

In order to recruit, employers must first advertise the job in Australia and demonstrate that they are unable to find suitable candidates in the local workforce. Only after this has occurred can an employer proceed to submit a recruitment plan. There are certain requirements when performing Labour Market Testing (advertising) which need to be adhered to.

Labour Market Testing is not a once-off activity and must be performed each time you recruit.

10.2. Submit a Recruitment Plan

After Labour Market Testing, a Recruitment Plan must be submitted to the PALM scheme for recruitment approval.

The recruitment plan is a form provided by PALM which requires you to provide:

Along with the Recruitment Plan, you must also submit:

The Welfare and Wellbeing Plan and Accommodation Plan templates can be found on SWP Online, which is an online portal for approved employers.

The application will be assessed within 10 days.

10.3. Recruit Suitable Workers

If the Recruitment Plan application is successful, you are able to recruit seasonal farm workers.

The farm workers who come to Australia under the Seasonal Worker Programme (SWP) are first selected and vetted by a “Labour Sending Unit” in their home country. These units are a Government department in each country, which means they differ between countries, and whilst there is a working partnership with each country, Labour Sending Units are not under the control of the Australian Government.

Each Labour Sending Unit has a “work-ready pool” of people that facilitate the recruitment process, including interviews and any other screening. If you recruit outside of the pool, you must work with the Labour Sending Unit to add the workers to the pool (i.e. you must go through the Labour Sending Unit).

Employers can conduct screening and selection by flying to the country or screening and selecting farm workers from Australia (for example, interviewing through Skype).

10.4. Visa Approval

The Labour Sending Unit will confirm the eligibility of the worker with the Department of Home Affairs for the PALM stream visa.

10.5. Provide an Offer of Employment

Once you have selected your farm workers, and eligibility is confirmed, you must provide the farm workers with an individual Offer of Employment.

The Offer of Employment must clearly contain certain items including:

A copy of the Fair Work Information Statement must be sent with all Offers of
Employment.

The Offer of Employment is sent to the Australian PALM mobilisation team who send it to, and liaise with, the relevant Labour Sending Unit.

An official PALM Offer of Employment template can be found on the PALM Scheme website.

11. Is There a Cap on the Number of Workers I Recruit?

Yes, for newly approved employers there will be a recruitment cap usually based on the size of the existing workforce. The cap can be removed after four months if your performance after the first 4 months.

Recruitment caps can be reimposed if DESE or DFAT (depending on the program) have concerns about your performance.

12. What if I Fail to Provide the Required Hours?

First of all, in your Recruitment Plan, you needed to outline your contingency plan if you are unable to provide the required hours.

If the contingency plan fails or wasn’t appropriate to begin with, then you may be able to transfer workers to another approved employer with the assistance of DESE or DFAT (depending on the program). However, this will not be looked on favourably and should be a last resort.

13. What Out of Work Behaviour Should I Expect?

It’s important to recognise that PALM seasonal farm workers come from environments with very low wages, and not as many entertainment opportunities.

They are generally also young, and maturity is not always different to a young person in Australia.

An analogy for this could be if you sent some young Australians to Las Vegas alone, with 10x their Australian wage.

Understandably, out of hours, some workers may not always behave in a way that you might consider responsible.

It is therefore important to understand this and provide a lot of education, support, and systems to help PALM seasonal farm workers stay safe and out of trouble.

As an approved employer, it is your responsibility to support the seasonal farm worker if they get into legal trouble.

15. Can I Terminate Employment?

Yes, but you should work with the DESE or DFAT (depending on the program), as well as follow Australian workplace relations laws and practices.

If you terminate employment, you will not be able to recover deductable direct costs which are yet to be recovered.

Conclusion

The PALM scheme is an initiative created by the Australian Government that provides employers with reliable workers from countries in the Pacific Islands and Timor-Leste.

The PALM scheme, which includes the Seasonal Worker Programme and Pacific Labour Scheme, helps farmers by providing a solution to labour shortages, and also by increasing productivity.

The program has many complexities if employment is direct with the farm but can be worth it to secure the reliable workers needed for farm operations.

References

  1. PALM Scheme Employer Guidelines
  2. PALM Scheme Application
  3. PALM Scheme Labour Market Testing and Recruitment Plan Process
  4. Offer of Employment Template