Australia’s seasonal workers denied vital health care
They work in tough conditions to put food on our tables, but new CQUniversity research shows tens of thousands of seasonal workers from Pacific Island countries and Timor Leste can’t access basic health care in Australia.
The public health report heard from more than 60 Queensland-based workers on the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme, as well as employers, and healthcare workers.
Researchers showed exclusion from Medicare, costly and confusing private health insurance with major gaps in coverage, no sick leave provisions, and distance from healthcare services mean PALM workers are structurally prevented from accessing timely and affordable care.
The report found instances of workers flying home to get free treatment in their own country, as flights were a fraction of the cost of treatment in Australia.
More than 31,000 PALM workers are currently in Australia, with 38 per cent in Queensland, and 91 per cent employed across agriculture and meat processing industries.
Their visa type excludes them from Medicare, and lead author Dr Haylee Fox says despite mandatory private health insurance, workers often face huge bills to seek medical assistance.
“These are people working in regional and remote areas with limited local services and no access to their own transport,” Dr Fox explained.
“Under the PALM scheme, workers are typically employed casually and are on minimum wages, whilst supporting families back at home, and paying Australian taxes that fund services like Medicare”
“Yet if they take time off due to illness or to see a doctor, they don’t get paid.”
“Many workers told us they delay or avoid seeking health care, conceal illnesses or injuries, and keep working while unwell because they’re afraid of losing their job, being deported, or being ‘blacklisted’ from returning to Australia,” Dr Fox explained.
The CQUniversity report makes 15 recommendations, including extending Medicare eligibility for all PALM workers, introducing paid sick leave entitlements under the PALM scheme, and funding after-hours and onsite care models, especially in regional and rural areas.
“Solutions are not only possible, but are being achieved where healthcare workers and conscientious employers tell us they ‘work around the system’ to do what they can to get health services for PALM workers,” Dr Fox said.
“Meaningful reform is essential if Australia is serious about protecting the health and human rights of the people who sustain key industries.”
Since 2022, CQUniversity’s research group has been uncovering how systemic and structural barriers prevent PALM workers from accessing essential healthcare, and providing evidence, advocacy and public awareness to drive government and policy action to fix a system that is currently failing the Pacific communities supporting Australia’s regional industries.
The report co-authors are CQUniversity researchers Dr Geraldine Vaughan, Associate Professor Catherine O’Mullan, Dr Robyn Preston, Professor Chris Doran, and Isaac Livai, with Dr Kris McBain-Rigg from James Cook University and Assoc Prof Billingsley Kaambwa from Flinders University.
The group’s work is funded by the Commonwealth Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing.
