The PALM scheme and the subclass 403 visa: what an employer needs to hire Pacific and Timor-Leste workers

MARN 1576536 · Checked against Home Affairs on 8 November 2026

The two approvals

An employer needs to be approved twice before it can bring PALM workers. The Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR) runs the PALM scheme and approves employers to take part in it, under its approved employer guidelines. Home Affairs then requires the same business to be an approved temporary activities sponsor, because the worker's visa, the subclass 403 PALM stream, is sponsored. When a worker is recruited, the employer gives them a PALM recruitment approval letter carrying the PALM endorsement number, and its temporary activities sponsor application ID; the worker needs both to lodge the visa online.

Short and long-term contracts

• Short-term: work under the scheme for up to 9 months.
• Long-term: work under the scheme for up to 4 years. After each long-term contract the worker must spend at least 6 months outside Australia before returning under another PALM contract.

The visa generally runs for the length of the work contract, and the worker can travel in and out of Australia while holding both a PALM contract and a valid visa.

The worker and the visa

The worker must be a citizen and resident of a participating PALM country and be approved to take part in the scheme as a worker, which includes meeting minimum age requirements, having adequate skills for the position, English appropriate to the tasks, and good character. They need an offer for an approved PALM work placement, and must meet the health and character requirements, hold adequate health insurance for the whole stay and intend a genuine temporary stay. The charge is A$365 for the main applicant, A$355 for each additional applicant aged over 18 and A$85 for each additional applicant under 18. First applications are made from outside Australia.

Transfers and extensions

Once the visa is granted, a PALM worker can change employer only if DEWR approves the change. The visa itself cannot be extended; staying longer means a new PALM stream visa. A worker can apply for one in Australia while holding, or within 28 days of holding, a 403 in the PALM, Seasonal Worker Program or Pacific Labour Scheme stream, with a new sponsorship from an approved PALM employer and a new recruitment approval letter. Under DEWR's guidelines this is open, for example, to a short-term worker offered a long-term contract, or a long-term worker offered an extension that keeps total time in Australia under four years.

Family

Short-term PALM workers cannot bring family on this visa. Under the PALM family accompaniment pilot, selected long-term workers on contracts of one to four years can; the family apply as subsequent entrants on the worker's visa with the selection notification, and must meet the health and character requirements and pay the visa charge.

PALM or another route?

PALM reaches unskilled and semi-skilled roles that the 482 cannot, but it ties the worker to approved placements, needs DEWR's approval to move, and gives no permanent pathway of its own. For roles with a longer horizon, the right industry labour agreement, such as the horticulture or meat agreement, or a DAMA in your region, may suit better because they lead to the 186 or 494. Many employers use more than one route for different roles.

Choose the right route for each role

A consultation compares PALM with the 482, the relevant industry labour agreement and any DAMA in your region for the roles you need, and sets out the sponsorship steps for the route you choose.

Book a consultation — A$330 inc. GST, credited

General information only, current at 8 November 2026; not advice on your own case. Department of Home Affairs, Subclass 403 Pacific Australia Labour Mobility stream. The PALM scheme, employer approval and the family accompaniment pilot are administered by the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations under its approved employer guidelines. Outcomes depend on each department’s assessment; no registered migration agent can guarantee a result (Code of Conduct, Migration Agents Regulations). Keshab Chapagain, MARN 1576536.