Illustrative photograph. Not a specific Orchard Tech workplace or a named PALM worker.
Last reviewed: 29 August 2026. This page is general information, not legal advice. Re-engagement is a DEWR decision. Read the live re-engagement information for workers.
If a PALM scheme worker leaves their Approved Employer and stays in Australia without PALM-approved employment, DEWR calls that disengagement. Some workers leave for reasons outside their control. The department has a dedicated team that can, in some cases, help them return to PALM work. That process is re-engagement. Not every request is approved.
When DEWR says it may consider re-engagement
The worker-facing page lists four tests. You may be considered if you:
- are no longer working for your original PALM scheme employer and have asked to return to the scheme
- are in Australia on a valid subclass 403 visa with at least six months’ validity left
- have a reason for leaving work that the department assesses as valid
- do not have any current criminal matters before the courts
DEWR says support is for people on a valid visa, in Australia, who stopped working through no fault of their own. If you left a compliant employer who was offering genuine work, the department says it will not support re-engagement.
What happens if you are suitable
DEWR says it will try to help place you with a new PALM scheme employer. That is not a guarantee of a job on a particular farm or in a particular week. Contact the support line to talk about options: 1800 51 51 31 or palm@dewr.gov.au.
What employers should not do
Do not tell a worker that leaving a placement means they can pick up cash work in town on the same visa. Disengagement without approved employment is a scheme and visa problem. If a worker raises safety, pay or welfare reasons for wanting to leave, treat that as a reportable issue — see our note on incident reporting — rather than as a quiet resignation.
Hosts in Victoria and New South Wales should know who the Approved Employer is, and that DEWR can redeploy workers when it terminates an employer’s deed (as it did in the 2026 cases described in our Approved Employer termination news).
Sources checked 29 August 2026: PALM scheme, Re-engagement information for workers; PALM scheme homepage (worker support language); Home Affairs subclass 403 PALM stream (visa class only — check grant notice for conditions).
