Illustrative photograph. Not a specific Orchard Tech workplace or a named PALM worker.
Last reviewed: 29 August 2026. This is a news summary of DEWR’s public notices, not a finding about any other business. Always check the PALM scheme homepage for the current list.
As at 1 July 2026, the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations says it has terminated the PALM scheme Deed of Agreement for two Approved Employers because of non-compliance with the deed:
- King Producers Management Team Pty Ltd (Kings Producers). DEWR says there were no PALM scheme workers employed by King Producers at the time of termination.
- iComply Horticultural Compliance Specialists Pty Ltd (iComply). DEWR says all PALM scheme workers were redeployed to other approved employers before termination, and that the department continues to support workers through the transition.
Those names and facts are DEWR’s, published on the PALM scheme website. Orchard Tech is not a party to those deeds and is not commenting on the underlying investigations.
What a deed termination means
An Approved Employer is in the scheme because DEWR accepted them under the deed. If DEWR ends that deed, the business can no longer employ people as a PALM Approved Employer. Workers are not meant to be left without a lawful PALM employer. In the iComply case, DEWR says it moved workers first. In the King Producers case, DEWR says no PALM workers were on the books when the deed ended.
The homepage also reminds businesses that they can access PALM workers by becoming an Approved Employer themselves or by recruiting through an approved PALM scheme labour hire company — and that employers still have to meet eligibility and ongoing requirements.
Why this matters on farm
If you host PALM workers, know the legal name of the Approved Employer on the deed, not only the trading name on a hi-vis shirt. If that employer leaves the scheme, DEWR — not the host — runs the worker transition. Keep paying correctly for work already done. Do not assume you can keep the same people on a different visa without advice.
Orchard Tech places labour in Victoria and New South Wales only. Victorian hosts should also keep labour hire licence checks on the Labour Hire Authority register. A PALM deed is not a Victorian labour hire licence, and a Victorian licence is not a PALM deed.
Source checked 29 August 2026: PALM scheme homepage, “Approved employers no longer in the PALM scheme” (as at 1 July 2026).
