Migration Amendment (Pacific Australia Labour Mobility Scheme) Regulations 2024 (the Regulations) dated 14 March 2024 amend the Migration Regulations 1994 to permit certain PALM scheme workers who are granted visas for between one and four years to apply to bring their family to Australia, if supported by the scheme.
The Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme provides for the entry and temporary stay of workers from Pacific island countries and Timor-Leste for the purpose of overcoming workforce shortages across Australia. Previously, only the workers participating in the PALM scheme were allowed to apply for and be granted a visa and not the secondary applicants. The Migration Amendment (Pacific Australia Labour Mobility Scheme) Regulations 2024 now allows PALM scheme workers who are granted visas to live and work in Australia for between one and four years to apply to bring their family to Australia, if supported by the scheme. However, PALM scheme workers with visa up to nine months at a time are not eligible to bring their families to Australia. To make a valid application for a Subclass 403 visa as a secondary applicant in the PALM stream:
- the primary applicant who is their family unit member must be an applicant for the grant of or holds a Subclass 403 visa as a primary applicant in the PALM stream that permits the primary applicant to remain in Australia for a period of at least 1 year, or holds a Subclass 403 in the Pacific Labour Scheme stream
- the application by the secondary applicant is supported, in writing, by a department responsible for administering the PALM scheme and such support has not been withdrawn
The amendments further provide a visa application charge of AUD$335 for any PALM stream secondary applicant who is at least 18 years of age and $80 for any PALM stream secondary applicant who is less than 18. The VAC for the primary applicant remains unchanged at AUD$335.
The Instrument is registered on the Federal Register of Legislation on 20 March 2024 and commenced on 25 March 2024. It is currently in force.
To access the instrument, click here.
