Regional Development Australia (Riverina) announced a Department of Home Affairs webinar scheduled—and publicised—on 26 February 2026 to brief employers on two key programs that channel Pacific labour into Australia: the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme and the new Pacific Engagement Visa (PEV). The one-hour session, part of Home Affairs’ Business, Industry & Regional Outreach series, aims to demystify sponsorship, employment contracts and settlement support for Pacific and Timor-Leste nationals. Officials will explain how the PEV ballot system works alongside PALM, outline employer obligations such as market-rate pay and pastoral care, and answer live questions from HR managers. The timing is significant.
![Home Affairs Launches Employer Webinar on Pacific Engagement Visa and PALM Scheme]()
VisaHQ’s Australia portal can help both employers and prospective workers cut through the red tape around these evolving visa options. Its online tools consolidate current check-lists, fees and processing times, and organisations can monitor multiple applications in one dashboard—visit https://www.visahq.com/australia/ to see how the service complements government briefings.
The first PEV ballot opens in April 2026, offering up to 3,000 permanent visas annually, while PALM temporary numbers have doubled since 2023 to ease regional labour shortages. Sectors from horticulture to aged care are scrambling to understand visa conditions, skills matching and pathways to permanence. Companies with operations in rural NSW and Victoria have welcomed the outreach but warn that housing shortages and thin community services remain barriers to retention. Home Affairs says the PEV’s permanent residency pathway will encourage longer stays and family reunification, boosting settlement outcomes compared with the seasonal PALM visa. Mobility professionals should register early; places are capped and similar sessions last year filled within days. Employers new to the programs will need to secure Accredited Employer status or sign Deeds of Agreement and should budget for onboarding costs, airfares and welfare services.
VisaHQ’s Australia portal can help both employers and prospective workers cut through the red tape around these evolving visa options. Its online tools consolidate current check-lists, fees and processing times, and organisations can monitor multiple applications in one dashboard—visit https://www.visahq.com/australia/ to see how the service complements government briefings.
The first PEV ballot opens in April 2026, offering up to 3,000 permanent visas annually, while PALM temporary numbers have doubled since 2023 to ease regional labour shortages. Sectors from horticulture to aged care are scrambling to understand visa conditions, skills matching and pathways to permanence. Companies with operations in rural NSW and Victoria have welcomed the outreach but warn that housing shortages and thin community services remain barriers to retention. Home Affairs says the PEV’s permanent residency pathway will encourage longer stays and family reunification, boosting settlement outcomes compared with the seasonal PALM visa. Mobility professionals should register early; places are capped and similar sessions last year filled within days. Employers new to the programs will need to secure Accredited Employer status or sign Deeds of Agreement and should budget for onboarding costs, airfares and welfare services.
