House of Representatives

Second Reading Speech

Mr CONROY (Shortland - Minister for Defence Industry and Minister for International Development and the Pacific)

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

The Social Services and Other Legislation Amendment (Australia's Engagement in the Pacific) Bill 2023will establish the legislative power to extend a range of government services and benefits to Pacific engagement visa holders and eligible Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme families.

The bill will provide immediate access for Pacific engagement visa holders to higher education and VET student loans, financial supports while studying and training, and family tax benefit part A.

It will also extend access to family tax benefits and childcare subsidies for families participating in family accompaniment under the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility, or PALM, scheme.

This bill reflects Australia's special relationship with the Pacific and Timor-Leste.

The Albanese government has said before that Australia's central message to the Pacific is that we are here to listen, we are here to work together, and we are here to make a difference.

This bill puts words to action.

The measures contained in the bill extend support and benefits to Pacific engagement visa holders so that participants have the opportunity to not just settle in Australia but pursue education opportunities and flourish in their new communities.

The new Pacific engagement visa is designed to grow the Pacific and Timor-Leste diaspora in Australia with ongoing connections to their home country, deepening our ties to the region.

The bill also delivers on the government's commitment to expand and improve the PALM scheme by introducing family accompaniment, beginning with a pilot of 200 families.

Workers under the PALM scheme provide essential support to Australia's economy, often in critical sectors, including in aged care and agriculture.

But to do so, many leave their families behind for months or years.

PALM scheme family accompaniment will permit workers on one- to four-year placements to bring their immediate family to Australia, with the support of their employer.

This bill means that PALM scheme workers participating in family accompaniment will be able to access benefits to support them with the costs of raising a family and enable full participation of spouses in the workforce, if they choose to do so.

It recognises the invaluable contribution that people from the Pacific and Timor-Leste make to Australia and addresses the under-representation of some of Australia's closest neighbours and partners in our migration program.

It brings to the fore the importance Australia places on our relationships with the countries of this region, and upholds our commitment to strengthening ties with the Pacific family.

Pacific engagement visa

This package of legislation builds on two related bills introduced by my colleague Minister Giles to establish a pre-application ballot process for prospective Pacific engagement visa holders, and charge a small fee to enter the ballot.

Collectively, these bills represent a significant step towards delivering on the government's commitment to introduce a new Pacific engagement visa - a groundbreaking, signature initiative of our plan to build a stronger Pacific family.

The Pacific engagement visa is a substantive expression of the value Australia places on its relationship with the Pacific family and has been welcomed by the Pacific.

Importantly, the Pacific engagement visa will address longstanding concerns of Pacific countries about limited migration pathways to one of their closest neighbours.

Less than one per cent of Australia's permanent migrant intake is from Pacific countries, which is disappointing given our proximity and many shared values.

The Pacific engagement visa will establish a permanent resident visa program for participating countries across the Pacific and Timor-Leste.

Three thousand visas, inclusive of partners and dependent children, will be allocated annually through a ballot process.

While the ballot process has been the subject of debate already in this chamber, I cannot overemphasise the importance of the ballot process to delivering on the objectives of the program. A ballot process ensures fair and transparent access, and gives equal chance to higher and lower skilled applicants, ensuring we do not deprive Pacific countries of skills and talent.

This approach has been welcomed by Pacific partners during consultations. It provides broad access for Pacific and Timor-Leste citizens, including for applicants from remote and economically disadvantaged islands and regions.

Eligible participants aged 18 to 45 will register in the ballot. If drawn from the ballot, they can then apply for the Pacific engagement visa and include their partner and dependent children in their application.

Being drawn in the ballot does not automatically mean a visa will be granted.

To be granted a visa, those drawn from the ballot will then need to apply and show that they meet the relevant criteria before being granted a visa.

Those drawn or their partners will need to have an ongoing job offer in Australia.

There will also be basic English language, health and character requirements for applicants.

The government has consulted widely with Pacific leaders to ensure the program meets the shared needs and priorities of our Pacific and Timor-Leste partners, and removes barriers for low- and semi-skilled workers.

This is a key ask of the Pacific, and the ballot and the measures contained in this bill respond to this ask.

A key measure of success will be the growth of a flourishing diaspora with opportunities for education and skills development and career progression.

The measures outlined in the bill will support this shared objective ensuring Pacific engagement visa holders are afforded basic levels of economic security when settling in Australia.

Pacific engagement visa support measures

To help eligible Pacific engagement visa holders and their families, the bill will introduce measures that assist with the cost of raising a family and ease the financial burden of undertaking further education.

The bill will amend the Social Security Act 1991 to provide an exemption to the newly arrived resident's waiting period for Pacific engagement visa holders' access to Austudy and youth allowance, while studying or completing an apprenticeship.

The bill also amends A New Tax System (Family Assistance) Act 1999 to provide an exemption to the newly arrived resident's waiting period for Pacific engagement visa holders for family tax benefit part A.

We know the power of education and upskilling, and so supporting access to our world-class education and training system for the Pacific family is a top priority.

That's why the bill also amends the Higher Education Support Act 2003 to extend the Higher Education Loan Program or HELP to Pacific engagement visa holders.

It also amends the VET Student Loans Act 2016 to extend eligibility for holders of the Pacific engagement visa.

These initiatives will open pathways for lower skilled and low-income applicants to upskill, and enable career progression and economic mobility. This will be good for individuals and families, Australian employers and regional economies and communities.

Providing access on arrival to family tax benefit part A demonstrates our commitment to growing a flourishing diaspora from a diverse range of backgrounds and skills. The waiving of the one-year waiting period will also provide immediate access to rent assistance and the healthcare card for eligible families.

The inclusion of HELP and VET student loans for PEV holders will be transformative.

Providing immediate access to youth allowance for students and apprentices is an important step to ensuring Pacific engagement visa holders can meaningfully engage with Australia's quality education and vocational training sectors.

We expect these reforms will result in more Pacific islanders participating in Australia's domestic education system than ever before.

By supporting participation in our education system, we are saying to our Pacific family: 'We support your ambition to further your education and the opportunities that this will bring you, your families and future generations of Pacific diaspora in Australia'.

It will mean Pacific engagement visa holders are better equipped to participate in the job market and contribute to both the Australian economy and their Pacific communities through remittances or during periods living back home, should they wish to do so.

PALM scheme

The PALM scheme allows approved employers to recruit workers from nine Pacific countries and Timor-Leste to address labour shortages in rural and regional areas. It includes short-term, seasonal work placements of up to nine months, and long-term placements between one to four years.

The PALM scheme is highly valued by Australia, the Pacific and Timor-Leste. It delivers wins for workers, communities, Pacific countries and Australian businesses and it addresses youth unemployment, supports economic integration of our region and draws our societies together.

The scheme is an important part of a wider package of measures designed to deepen Australia's ties with the Pacific and build a stronger and more united Pacific family.

PALM scheme workers are reliable and productive, ensuring businesses can continue to run and support their communities when there are not enough local workers available. And they make a positive contribution in their communities.

Fijian workers in Swan Hill have joined the Country Fire Authority as volunteer fire fighters.

In Stawell, ni-Vanuatu workers spend time in the community visiting the elderly and people living with disabilities, helping them with general chores like gardening and moving furniture.

And during the flooding in Lismore, PALM scheme workers volunteered to be part of the rescue effort, working with the SES to rescue people trapped by flood waters and get them safely to evacuation centres.

The PALM scheme also, importantly, helps support the economic development of Pacific countries and Timor-Leste through remittances.

Take Rufina, a PALM scheme worker from Timor-Leste employed at Hillwood Berries in Tasmania. When Rufina picks berries, she counts the number of punnets she picks each day to calculate how many bricks she will be able to purchase toward a new house back home. This is just one example of the transformative nature of the PALM scheme.

We have already delivered on our commitment to expand the PALM scheme. The total number of Pacific and Timor-Leste workers in Australia has risen from over 24,000 a year ago to more than 39,000 today.

And we will continue to expand the scheme, responsibly.

New investments in skills development will deliver more training opportunities - helping PALM scheme workers return home with important skills and qualifications to contribute to their home economies and communities.

Over the next six months, we will welcome 500 new workers in the aged-care sector who will complete a Certificate III in Individual Support (Ageing), while working as carers in aged-care homes in rural and regional Australia.

Before the last election, as part of our plan for a stronger Pacific family, we announced that families would be able join PALM scheme workers in Australia.

This arose from feedback from Pacific countries and Timor-Leste and their workers regarding the negative social impacts of extended periods of family separation.

Currently, workers on long-term placements can spend up to four years in Australia filling critical roles that employers cannot find local labour to fill. This means they are separated from their partners and children back home for an extended period.

Family accompaniment will allow these workers to bring their immediate families to Australia.

We will start with 200 families and carefully monitor, evaluate, adjust and refine the program to ensure that family accompaniment is delivering for everyone.

Any workers seeking to bring their families to Australia will need the agreement of their employer and will need to have been approved as participants in family accompaniment.

They will also need to meet additional program criteria to be eligible to participate, particularly in the initial stage.

Workers participating in the pilot will need to have spent 12 months in Australia prior to their families arriving. This means that the workers will have already completed the newly arrived resident's waiting period for family tax benefit part A prior to families arriving. After 12 months, PALM scheme workers will also be familiar with life in Australia and will be able to help their families settle into their communities.

We know that for family accompaniment to be successful, partners and children will need to feel part of their local communities, whether through work, study, or other community involvement. That is why accompanying family members will be able to take up paid work and children will be able to go to school. For some families, the opportunity for their children to benefit from an Australian education will be an important factor in their participation.

In the most recent budget, we announced that workers and their families participating in the family accompaniment pilot will also be able to access Medicare. This will support families to receive the health care they need during their time in Australia.

The government is committed to supporting the welfare of PALM scheme families. We will be providing a range of settlement and welfare support to help families transition smoothly to life and work in Australia.

It's in nobody's interests for PALM scheme workers or their families to be inadequately supported during their time in Australia.

This bill is an important part of the support the government is providing to PALM.

The bill will amend the A New Tax System (Family Assistance) Act 1999 to enable eligible PALM scheme workers and their families in Australia under the family accompaniment initiative to access family tax benefit parts A and B and associated payments; and the childcare subsidy.

These measures will help support eligible PALM scheme families while they are raising children in Australia. These measures will also reduce the barriers to workforce participation for partners of PALM scheme workers, by ensuring the cost of child care does not act as a disincentive.

We have prioritised those payments of most importance to lower income families.

Conclusion

Closer engagement between Australia and Pacific island countries deepens our people-to-people connections and enriches our communities and countries.

As a member of the Pacific family, Australia is committed to working with all countries in the Pacific and Timor-Leste to achieve our shared aspirations and address our shared challenges.

This bill is an important step towards delivering on our commitment to strengthen the Pacific family by supporting a flourishing Pacific diaspora in Australia, deepening connections with the countries of the Pacific and Timor-Leste.

We will look back on this moment as a critical advancement in our relationship with the Pacific. A moment when Australia took steps to address a major shortcoming in our migration program - the under-representation of some our closest neighbours, those we consider family.

These initiatives will strengthen our links with the Pacific family and deepen our ties to the region that is our home, and that is critical to our future.

I commend this bill to the chamber.

Debate adjourned.