Gender, safety and wellbeing of Pacific and Timorese labour migrants in Australia

Lindy Kanan; Judy Putt

doi:10.1080/00049182.2026.2716464

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Gender, safety and wellbeing of Pacific and Timorese labour migrants in Australia

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Gender, safety and wellbeing of Pacific and Timorese labour migrants in Australia

Lindy Kanan and Judy Putt

Australian Geographer, Vol.Advanced access

04-Sep-2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00049182.2026.2716464

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Abstract

gender

guestworkers

Pacific

service access

Temporary labour migrants

Timor-Leste

This article examines how gender shapes the safety and wellbeing of Pacific and Timorese participants in Australia’s Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme. Drawing on a multi-site, mixed-methods study – including surveys (n = 303 participants; n = 54 stakeholders), 107 interviews and field observations across three Australian states – the article identifies the key factors that influence workers’ experiences in regional and rural contexts. The analysis shows that safety and wellbeing are shaped by an interaction of structural conditions, including visa arrangements, employer dependence and limited access to services, as well as social and cultural factors such as information gaps, financial pressures and isolation. Gender emerges as a critical axis of inequality. Women face disproportionate risks, particularly in relation to sexual and reproductive health and rights, and sexual and gender-based violence, compounded by barriers to healthcare and support services. We argue that these risks are produced within the governance arrangements and spatial organisation of the PALM scheme which constrain workers’ agency and create uneven access to care in regional Australia. By integrating insights from migration, labour and care geographies, the study contributes a gendered account of labour mobility and highlights the need for coordinated, culturally responsive and accessible support systems.

Details

Title: Gender, safety and wellbeing of Pacific and Timorese labour migrants in Australia
Authors: Lindy Kanan (Corresponding Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast
Judy Putt - Australian National University
Publication details: Australian Geographer, Vol.Advanced access
Publisher: Routledge
DOI: 10.1080/00049182.2026.2716464
ISSN: 1465-3311
Copyright note: © 2026 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.
Grant note: The research was funded by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade through the Pacific Research Program, and The Australian National University.
Organisation Unit: School of Law and Society
Language: English
Record Identifier: 991258955402621
Output Type: Journal article

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