This article explores how Australia’s Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme, promoted as a win–win for workers and employers, has in reality pushed thousands of Pacific Islanders into situations many experts now describe as bordering on modern slavery.
We’ll look at how the program actually works, what’s gone wrong on the ground, and why this matters not just for Australia, but for the wider Pacific region – including cherished destinations like Vanuatu that rely on fair labour, dignity, and mutual respect.
From overwater bungalows to beachfront resorts, find your perfect stay in this island nation of more than 80 islands. Instant booking with best price guarantee!
Browse Accommodations Now
What Is the PALM Scheme – And Why Did It Matter to the Pacific?
The PALM scheme was designed to bring workers from 10 Pacific Island nations to Australia on temporary visas.
On paper, it promised much-needed jobs and remittances for island communities, while helping Australian industries fill critical labour shortages.
Under PALM, workers are tied to government-approved employers in key sectors:
Contracts can last up to nine months for short-term seasonal work or up to four years for longer-term placements.
Today, more than 30,000 Pacific Islanders are employed under PALM, part of a system that has become central to Australia’s rural and regional labour market.
How 7,200 Pacific Islanders Walked Away
An ABC investigation estimates that around 7,200 Pacific Islanders have quit the scheme, often breaching visa conditions in the process.
By walking away, they not only lose their legal status, but also access to basic rights like health care and formal protections in the workplace.
For many, the decision to abscond is a last resort, taken after months of hardship.
The numbers suggest a systemic problem: this is not a handful of isolated cases, but a pattern of people choosing insecurity and illegality over life under official PALM contracts.
Life Under PALM: Low Pay, High Deductions and Crushing Isolation
The glossy brochures sell PALM as a pathway to income, skills and opportunity.
The stories workers tell are often very different.
Many report that by the time deductions are taken from their pay, there is little left to send home to families.
Common complaints include:
Personal Stories of Despair
These issues become painfully real when you listen to individual voices.
A Solomon Islander, Susan Pinu, left fruit picking after discovering how little she was actually earning once deductions were removed.
She described reaching a point of deep, suicidal despair as the gap widened between what was promised and what she experienced.
Another worker, Wayne Leve, reported taking home just A$300–$400 per week.
Faced with the impossibility of supporting his family on that income, he decided to quit his official placement, despite the risk of losing his visa and rights.
“Exit” and “Voice” Suppressed: Why Workers Feel Trapped
Researchers looking at PALM say the scheme is structured in a way that deliberately suppresses workers’ ability to either improve their conditions (“voice”) or leave bad employers (“exit”).
In many cases, termination of employment effectively means deportation.
This dynamic creates extreme vulnerability.
When losing your job means being sent home in debt and shame, you are far less likely to complain about unpaid wages, dangerous tasks, or degrading treatment.
Modern Slavery Concerns and Deadly Failures
Investigations and official inquiries have uncovered severe conditions, including the death of a Tongan PALM worker in 2022 at a Western Australian abattoir.
The facility was later fined A$785,000 for safety failures, underlining how systemic neglect can have fatal consequences.
Medical professionals and parliamentary committees have gone further, warning of clear modern slavery risks within the program.
Reports include:
Inquiries, Neo-Colonial Patterns and a Failure to Reform
Since 2022, the PALM scheme has been examined by multiple bodies: the Australian Senate, state-level anti-slavery commissioners, and even Pacific governments themselves.
The scheme has been placed in a broader historical context.
For many Pacific observers, PALM – and New Zealand’s similar Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme – echo much older patterns of labour extraction from the islands.
Governments celebrate remittances flowing back to villages, while employers and officials too often evade accountability for the conditions under which those dollars are earned.
What This Means for the Pacific – and for Vanuatu
For island nations like Vanuatu, these issues cut to the heart of sovereignty and dignity. Vanuatu’s people are renowned across the world for their warmth, hospitality and deep cultural pride.
Many ni-Vanuatu leave home to work abroad in schemes just like PALM. They hope to support families and invest in land, education or small businesses back on the islands.
When these schemes fail to protect workers, the damage is not only economic. It affects social cohesion, mental health, and the trust that underpins regional partnerships.
Its workers abroad must be treated with the same respect and care that visitors receive at home.
Understanding the story behind schemes like PALM helps us appreciate that the friendly faces we meet in Vanuatu’s villages and resorts may also be the same people taking tough jobs overseas.
Their wellbeing, both abroad and at home, is essential to the future of tourism and to the soul of the Pacific itself.
Here is the source article for this story: Abuse and exploitation endemic in Australia’s Pacific “guest worker” scheme
Find available hotels and vacation homes instantly. No fees, best rates guaranteed!
Check Availability Now
About Vanuatu
Planning Your Stay in Vanuatu
Things to Do in Vanuatu
Vanuatu Cuisine
Vanuatu History
Vanuatu Islands
Vanuatu Provinces
