Research intensifies calls for reforms over foreign workers’ super

Yasmine Raso

Senior Journalist, Financial Newswire

18 June 2025

Calls for the Federal Government to introduce reforms for Pacific and Timor-Leste workers to access their unclaimed superannuation have intensified following the release of new research from the University of South Australia (UniSA).

The Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme saw over 31,000 workers attend to rural and regional Australian communities just in March 2025 to work across the agriculture, aged care, hospitality and tourism sectors.

PALM workers can accumulate anywhere between $3,000 to $16,000 in superannuation depending on the length of their visa, and it can only be claimed after their visa expires and they have travelled back to their home country.

UniSA Senior Lecturer and Manager of the UniSA Tax Clinic, Dr Rob Whait, said many PALM workers either are not aware of the process to access the funds or are faced with its legal complexities, “administrative red tape” and language barriers – leaving millions of dollars in superannuation unclaimed.

“Completing the required paperwork requires workers to be proficient in English, seeing as the forms aren’t available in other languages. It also requires access to a computer and the internet as the forms can’t be downloaded and need to be completed online, then emailed to the relevant authority,” he said.

“In PALM countries, English is a second language, and the internet is not as readily accessible as it is here. The responsibility for making a claim lies solely with the worker, and there is no obligation for the employer here in Australia to provide information about how workers can claim their superannuation.”

Whait recommended several reforms to the way in which superannuation is owed to PALM workers to ensure they receive the funds they are entitled to, including by having their superannuation paid directly into their pre-existing super fund based in their home country or to have the funds paid as part of their wages.

Whait urged the Federal Government to consider the reforms also because of the PALM scheme’s “strategic importance to Australia” and its power to nurture the nation’s relationships within the Pacific region.

“A leader among the PALM workers said that he would prefer Australia to follow the New Zealand approach where superannuation is not paid at all, and instead, they get all their money paid as wages. Another PALM worker said that the superannuation funds in their country are not being managed in their best interests,” Whait said.

“After visiting PALM worker locations, we were left with the impression that many PALM workers would rather have immediate access to their money to help their families and communities now, rather than wait for retirement. Further research can confirm these preferences and impressions.

“Enhanced economic prosperity arises from PALM workers taking the skills they’ve learnt in Australia back to their own communities.

“PALM workers are collectively leaving many millions of dollars in superannuation unclaimed, but any potential reforms must consider recent political tensions in the Pacific.

“If done correctly, PALM superannuation policy reform presents Australia with an opportunity to rebuild and strengthen relationships with its Pacific neighbours.”