Injured farm worker left homeless as labour hire firm collapses
A Tongan mechanic, who came to Australia under a Pacific worker scheme, is stuck in visa limbo after suffering a workplace injury and experiencing homelessness and unemployment when the labour hire company he worked for collapsed.
Injured farm worker Davis Lausii, who arrived in Australia under the federal government's Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme, was left homeless after his labour hire employer, Plant Grow Pick (PGP), collapsed. On Christmas Day, Lausii was told the accommodation provided by PGP would no longer be paid for, leaving him without shelter for four days.
PGP had entered administration in late 2023 and was under regulatory scrutiny for breaching PALM obligations. Despite this, PGP remained an approved PALM employer until April 2025, when the DEWR terminated its PALM deed due to non-compliance. The case raises questions about the support provided to PALM workers in the event of serious injury or employer collapse and highlights a potential regulatory gap in New South Wales' labour hire licensing laws.
Experts argue that Mr Lausii's situation illustrates broader vulnerabilities within the PALM scheme and Australia's reliance on temporary migrant workers with limited support when issues arise.
Brief written by urgent.news from ABC News AU's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
