Pacific Islanders applying for protection visa to access better work conditions in Australia, advocates say

Majority of workers applying don’t expect they will be allowed to stay in Australia but ‘see it as a way to get to stay a bit longer,’ union says

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There has been a huge spike in Pacific Islanders applying for protection visas because they offer better working conditions than the government program designed to help workers from nine islands and Timor-Leste come to Australia, advocates say.

Home affairs department figures show 171 seasonal workers from the Pacific applied for protection visas in 2019-20, with the number increasing to 1,002 in 2021-22 and 1,698 in 2022-23.

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