THE issuance of application forms for seasonal work under the Pacific Australia Labor Mobility (PALM) has been suspended until 2025 to allow the responsible government body to screen applications received during the last two years.
Thats according to the Labor Mobility Unit (LMU) in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade (MFAET).
An officer from LMU revealed this on Thursday when Solomon Star sought to know when the issuance of applications forms for the PALM scheme will resume.
The officer said so far, the screening and processing of the batches of applications from 2022 to 2023 are still ongoing, leaving no space to deal with new applications if the issuance of application forms resumed this year.
The LMU officer said the date for the resumption of the issuance of application forms will be announced nationwide through the media and on the MFAET facebook page and website.
With this explanation, the officer advised those waiting to apply for seasonal work under the PALM scheme to await the announcement.
It is understood that many men and women in the country are anxiously awaiting the resumption of the PALM scheme application form issuance to apply.
To date, there are 7600 Solomon Islanders already in Australia under the PALM scheme and the money they send back home to their families has made significant impacts not only on families but the national economy at large.
By IAN LADDS OSO
Solomon Star, Honiara
