BERRIES Australia welcomed the Australian government announcement of reforms to the current Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) to create a single streamlined program.

The two existing PALM initiatives – the Seasonal Worker Programme (SWP) and the Pacific Labour Scheme (PLS) – will be consolidated and operated under a single, improved PALM scheme.

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It will commence in April 2022 and be managed by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

The scheme allows eligible Australian businesses to hire workers from nine Pacific islands and Timor-Leste when there are not enough local workers available.

Through the PALM scheme, eligible businesses can recruit workers for seasonal jobs for up to nine months or for longer-term roles for between one and three years in unskilled, low-skilled and semi-skilled positions.

Berries Australia Executive Director Rachel Mackenzie said the industry particularly welcomes the streamlining of processes and improved capacity for workers to move more easily between farms to enable an efficient and effective workforce for the sector and maximise worker earnings.

“The industry continues to support strong worker protections underpinned by an active compliance and assurance program,” she said.

“The Pacific Worker scheme has really shown its value to the sector during the pandemic and the funds workers have been able to send home have supported Pacific Nations devastated by a lack of tourists.

“The berry industry has relied heavily on these workers during the Pandemic and those growers who had already set themselves up to participate in the scheme were at a definite advantage,” Ms Mackenzie said.

Berries Australia commended the government for listening to industry and worker representatives to implement reforms that benefit both parties.

Berries Australia is a joint venture between the Australian Blueberry Growers’ Association, Raspberries and Blackberries Australia and Strawberries Australia Inc.

Berries Australia represents more than 1000 growers across the country with members ranging from small family farms to large corporate enterprises.

By Sandra MOON