Undocumented, underpaid, and over here

A new Australia Institute podcast shows why an amnesty is needed to address the estimated 7000 cases of people who have “disengaged” from the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme. 

In June 2025, Australian screens were filled with images of tense clashes over Trump’s aggressive tactics to deport allegedly illegal immigrants from the United States. The streets of Los Angeles became a focal point, but confrontation erupted in cities from coast to coast. It’s a complex issue, but at the core is the unresolved status of people who have been permitted to work in the United States, officially or not, for decades.

Around the same time I travelled to Leeton, a town in the NSW Riverina, to speak to people who came to Australia as part of the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme. Over 30,000 people from nine Pacific Island nations and Timor Leste work in Australia under the temporary employment scheme, mostly in agriculture and meat processing. But – for reasons that include underpayment, underemployment, and unacceptable accommodation – an estimated 7000 have made the difficult decision to walk away from the PALM scheme and live in Australia in violation of their visa conditions. Some have bridging visas, some do not. Some have working rights, some do not. All are vulnerable to the whims of employers, landlords, and government. You can hear some of their stories in the new Australia Institute podcast PALMed Off.

Lest Australia end up with its own permanent subclass of undocumented workers essential to the functioning of the economy, an amnesty is needed to individually address the cases of these so-called “disengaged” former PALM workers. Perhaps some have been treated unfairly and deserve a chance to work for a more scrupulous employer. Maybe others want to return to their country of origin but can not afford a plane ticket, or are not sure how they would answer difficult questions at the border. And if there are people who have truly outstayed their welcome in Australia their passage home needs to be facilitated. The Commonwealth Government issued PALM visas to these people, which means the Commonwealth Government has a responsibility to them.

Resolving these individual cases is urgent. But it is more important to address the reasons for this kind of disengagement so that it does not happen in the first place. Many of the PALM visa holders that I spoke to – current and former – said they did not earn enough money under the scheme. This was because they were either not given enough hours to work, or because their employer made excessive deductions from their pay – or both. Businesses that employ people through the PALM scheme are permitted to deduct money directly from their pay to cover the cost of flights to Australia, visa application fees, accommodation, transport to and from work, and other incidentals. But these deductions can leave workers with very little money to show for a hard week’s labouring in fields under the elements, or in the cold of an abattoir. One way to ensure that any necessary deductions are fair and transparent would be to have them managed by the Australian Tax Office.

Poor quality, overcrowded, expensive accommodation was another common cause for complaint. Many PALM visa holders live in accommodation provided by their employer, which can further entrench an exploitative power dynamic beyond the workplace.

But beneath any one specific reason lies a more fundamental question about the right to change employer. Most Australians take this for granted, but the only way for a PALM visa holder to leave the employer that sponsors their visa is to go through a complicated application process involving the current employer, a potential future employer, and the Commonwealth Government. For a new migrant entangled in a workplace dispute this is an unrealistic expectation. More fundamentally, it undermines that notion of a free labour market. If deductions are excessive or accommodation is unfit to live in, why should people not be allowed to vote with their feet and leave?

There are more questions that need answers. For instance: why are PALM visa holders, who pay taxes to the Australian Government, not granted access to Australian social services such as Medicare? And how can people get the superannuation money they earn in Australia after they return home? But perhaps the biggest question of all is how Australia can expect to foster good relationships with its nearest neighbours if we treat their citizens so unfairly.

The PALM scheme is now expanding beyond temporary agricultural work and into other sectors, including hospitality and aged care. Before it grows any further, and before disengagement becomes any worse, it is crucial that these underlying problems are solved. An amnesty for disengaged workers is the logical place to start.