Australia Names 10 Countries Eligible for Pacific Labour Scheme
Australia has confirmed the 10 countries whose citizens can participate in its Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme, a temporary work programme designed to bring workers from Pacific island countries and Timor-Leste into parts of the Australian labour market.
The participating countries are Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
The scheme is aimed at helping Australian employers fill labour shortages while giving participating workers opportunities to earn income and develop skills that can benefit their families and communities when they return home.
Countries whose citizens can participate
Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade lists the following 10 PALM participating countries:
- Fiji
- Kiribati
- Nauru
- Papua New Guinea
- Samoa
- Solomon Islands
- Timor-Leste
- Tonga
- Tuvalu
- Vanuatu
The list covers countries across Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia, alongside Timor-Leste.
The Australian government says participating Pacific countries and Timor-Leste make a sovereign choice about their involvement in the programme and work with Australia on how the scheme operates.
What is the PALM scheme?
PALM is a temporary migration programme through which approved Australian businesses can recruit workers from participating countries when they cannot find enough local workers.
The programme covers unskilled, low-skilled and semi-skilled jobs, particularly in regional and rural Australia. It also covers agriculture and selected agriculture-related food manufacturing jobs nationally.
There are two broad placement arrangements.
Workers can take part in short-term seasonal placements of up to nine months, while longer-term placements can run for between one and four years.
This makes PALM different from a general Australian work visa open to people from around the world. Access is tied to the participating countries and the approved employers and positions under the scheme.
What workers can gain from the programme
The Australian government says PALM gives workers the opportunity to earn income, gain work experience and develop skills.
It also points to the financial benefits for workers’ families and communities in their home countries, including money sent home to support education, housing and other needs.
Australia’s 2026-27 development assistance budget says about 32,000 PALM workers are expected to support sectors of the Australian economy during the financial year, including agriculture, meat processing and the care economy.
The government also said PALM workers sent home an average of about A$1,460 per month, with total remittances reaching A$556 million in 2025.
Do Nigerians qualify for PALM?
Nigeria is not among the 10 countries currently participating in the PALM scheme.
This means a Nigerian cannot use PALM simply as a route to obtain temporary employment in Australia.
The programme is specifically structured around Australia’s labour-mobility arrangements with participating Pacific island countries and Timor-Leste.
Nigerians looking for Australian work opportunities therefore need to consider other migration and employment pathways for which they may meet the eligibility requirements.
Australia is expanding the programme
Australia is also working to expand PALM participation.
The government says it plans to integrate New Caledonia into the scheme in 2026 through an initial cohort of up to 100 workers recruited and deployed over a two-year period.
The initial deployment is intended to test and refine the arrangements before future worker numbers are determined by employer demand and New Caledonia’s priorities.
Australia has committed nearly A$440 million through successive budgets to improve and expand the PALM scheme, including stronger oversight, additional support for participating countries and skills training for workers.
The government says up to 1,500 PALM workers are expected to attain formal qualifications by 2028.
PALM is not the same as permanent migration
Another important point for prospective applicants is that PALM is primarily a temporary labour-mobility programme.
Workers are recruited for defined employment placements rather than receiving automatic permanent residence in Australia.
The Australian government separately operates the Pacific Engagement visa, which provides a permanent migration pathway for eligible citizens of participating Pacific island countries and Timor-Leste through a ballot system.
Therefore, being eligible for PALM should not be interpreted as an automatic pathway to Australian permanent residency.
For the 10 participating countries, however, the scheme provides a structured opportunity for workers to gain Australian employment experience, earn income and develop skills while filling labour shortages in sectors where Australian employers need additional workers.