NT will welcome PALM scheme workers in ECEC pilot

The Northern Territory will welcome Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme workers via an early childhood education and care (ECEC) pilot which will allow workers from Papua New Guinea to work and train in Australia. 

Announced earlier this month at the Pacific Labour Mobility Annual Meeting in Brisbane, the small pilot program of 15 workers will test whether the scheme should be opened-up more broadly to employers in the early childhood education and care sector.

The first group of PALM workers to be employed in Australia’s ECEC sector will arrive in the Northern Territory early next year from Papua New Guinea and will be employed by two approved employers in Katherine and Alice Springs where local educators have been hard to find. 

These Pacific educators will also make an important contribution to the economies of Katherine and Alice Springs by enabling parents to participate in the workforce.

The Australian Government will fund training for pilot participants, developing long term skills and expertise that will strengthen the domestic labour markets of their home countries.

“I look forward to welcoming the first PALM scheme early childhood education and care workers to the NT,” Minister for International Development and the Pacific Pat Conway said. 

“They will make an important contribution to the economies of Katherine and Alice Springs while strengthening our relationships with Pacific countries and Timor-Leste.”

“I hope this paves the way for more educators to come to Australia, sending home remittances to their families, building skills and contributing to the long-term development of their home countries.”

In other aspects of the Australian employment market the PALM scheme is highly valued by both employers and industry, participating countries, and by those who come to Australia to work.

An ANU/World Bank survey of more than 2,000 Pacific workers found 98 per cent would recommend the scheme to others, and 92 per cent wanted to work under the scheme again.

On average, PALM scheme workers are able to save or send home $1,500 a month and earn up to 9-10 times more than they would be able to in their home countries.

The Australian Government is committed to expanding and improving the PALM scheme to provide more opportunities for Australian businesses and its Pacific and Timor-Leste partners.