Pacific Labour Scheme

The Pacific Labour Scheme commenced on 1 July 2018 to help meet business demand in rural and regional Australia, where it is clear no Australians are available. The Scheme is demand driven and will help fill labour gaps in Australia's towns and on our farms, boosting economic activity and competitiveness in rural and regional Australia. It will focus on industries with projected strong employment growth that match Pacific islanders' skill sets, such as the hospitality, tourism and aged-care sectors.  The Scheme has a cap of 2,000 workers in 2018-19 and is currently open to workers from Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu.

The new Scheme complements the existing Seasonal Worker Programme which, since 2012 has given more than 25,000 seasonal jobs to workers from the Pacific and Timor-Leste.