Photo: Supplied
PALM Scheme boosts Solomon Islands economy with record remittances, jobs in Australia, and stronger bilateral ties.
The Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme continues to transform the lives of Solomon Islanders, driving record levels of remittances and strengthening economic ties between Solomon Islands and Australia.
Since 2018, more than 11,000 Solomon Islanders have taken up work opportunities in Australia through the scheme, generating significant financial benefits for families, communities and the national economy.
“Workers remitted 429 million Solomon dollars in 2024, and last year, in 2025, remittances surpassed half a billion dollars. This is huge, and it is no surprise that remittances are now our third-largest foreign exchange earner, after gold and logs which are sadly non-renewables”
Mr. Robert Sisilo, Solomon Islands High Commissioner to Australia, told the Hon. Amanda Rishworth, MP and Australia’s Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations at a Roundtable with Pacific and Timor-Leste Heads of Mission in Canberra last week.
Mr. Sisilo reaffirmed the Solomon Islands Government’s strong support for the PALM scheme, describing it as a central pillar of the country’s partnership with Australia. He also appealed for the scheme to be extended to urban and metropolitan areas of Australia, where demand for semi-skilled and skilled labour continues to grow.
“If only the scheme could also include major cities where the need is sky-high for welding, plumbing, construction, hospitality, age care etc, and particularly in Brisbane as preparations intensify for the Olympic and Paralympic Games it will host in 2032,” Mr. Sisilo pleaded and thanked Australia for funding two Country Liaison Officers for Solomon Islands.
The Minister’s Roundtable, held twice yearly at the Australian Parliament House, provides Pacific representatives with updates from the Australian Government and an open forum to discuss key worker-welfare issues.
Topics covered at the meeting included transportation and road safety, accommodation standards, health insurance, payslips, disengagement processes, and strengthening the role of Country Liaison Officers.
Source: Supplied
