Darwin hospitality business owner Darren Lynch, who employs around 200 people across his various bars and restaurants, faces a persistent challenge: securing a reliable workforce. While backpackers on working holiday visas help fill some gaps, the time and effort required to train them often outweighs the benefits as they soon move on to their next destination. “You spend a fair bit of energy training people up in these roles and it might take a month to get them up to speed,” Mr. Lynch explained. “You get a good six to eight weeks’ service out of them … and then their mind is on their next destination.”
However, Lynch has found a more stable solution in workers from Timor-Leste, who are part of the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme. This initiative, which brings workers from eight Pacific nations and Timor-Leste to Australia, was recently expanded to include industries such as hospitality and childcare. Despite facing controversies, including allegations of modern slavery, advocates argue that tightened regulations have enhanced the program’s benefits for both employers and workers.
Timor-Leste Workers: A Consistent Workforce Solution
Reynaldo Armando da Silva, a PALM scheme worker from Timor-Leste, earns nearly as much in a few shifts as a kitchen hand at Lynch’s bar on the Darwin Waterfront as he would in a month back home. “You can make a lot of money. When you go back, you can make your dream come true,” he said, expressing his aspiration to open a mini coffee shop in his country.
Mr. Lynch noted that finding locals for entry-level jobs is virtually impossible, but with Timor-Leste staff, his business finally enjoys some consistency. This frustration with endless recruiting led Lynch to partner with Queensland business CANEX to start a labor hire company focused on the Northern Territory’s needs. It was the first in the NT to bring in PALM scheme workers specifically for hospitality.
Mutual Benefits and Future Aspirations
CANEX manager Mark Cantoni highlighted the “huge pain points in labor, especially for those lower-skilled or semi-skilled positions,” and described the scheme as a “fantastic solution” and “mutually beneficial arrangement.” Madelena de Araujo Guterres, another recruit, works in housekeeping at Darwin’s Bladin Point FIFO accommodation center. She sees this opportunity as a way to secure her future: “I can save for my retirement, help my family, help my brother and sister,” she said.
Luzia Obe, who prepares food for FIFO workers at the same facility, is gaining skills she plans to use back home. “My objective is whatever I learn here, I would like to apply in my country, and also to open my own business to give more jobs for my people,” she shared.
From Dili to Darwin: Expanding Opportunities
Ronan Mackey from the NT Chamber of Commerce, who was tasked with growing the PALM scheme in the NT, sees vast potential for the territory. “I don’t see why we can’t grow this to thousands and thousands of workers here in the NT,” he said. The chamber ensures that NT-bound workers are not exploited by unscrupulous labor hire companies. “There are … labor hire companies out there that are not part of the program but saying that they are, and they are taking advantage of some of the workers here in the country,” he cautioned.
Last year, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, Tomoya Obokata, visited Australia at the Albanese government’s invitation. His report, published in July, expressed “serious concerns about the treatment of migrant workers in Australia,” including those in the PALM scheme. Despite these concerns, Mackey is confident in the scheme’s checks and balances and its potential to fill gaps in more industries, such as maintenance, trades, and mining.
Looking Ahead: A Growing Demand
Mr. Lynch, having witnessed the positive impact on his businesses, hopes for the scheme’s continued growth. “Whether it’s onshore gas or other industries, it’s going to need more and more people,” he said. “Right now we’ve got a massive undersupply of thousands of people. When the new industries come on board, it’s going to be even more people, so [we] need to start now.”
The PALM scheme’s expansion into various sectors indicates a promising future for both the Northern Territory’s workforce needs and the workers from Timor-Leste and other Pacific nations seeking better opportunities.
