'Unoloto was working in a restaurant in her hometown of Navutoka in 2019 when she applied for work in Australia. Although leaving her daughter and family would be difficult, she knew a position in the PALM scheme would mean a better income to pay for her daughter’s school fees and basic living essentials for her family.

‘Unoloto’s family was also feeling the effects of her mother’s recent passing, and ‘Unoloto wanted to buy a car to support her father with his work.

“After my mother passed away, I started helping my father on his farm. It was hard for him to carry everything to and from the farm on his own and I made it my first goal to buy him a car,” she said.

After being invited to an interview and to undergo work readiness testing, ‘Unoloto was offered a role as a meat processing worker in Western Australia. From early on she did her best to make the most of the opportunity.

“I knew it would be hard work in Australia, so before leaving I started going to the gym to get strong,” she said.

“When I arrived, to start with it was hard work, but I kept going for my family. Some of the new people in the beginning say, ‘it’s hard, I want to go home'. But I tell them to keep working. I know it’s hard and I’ve been through that.”

‘Unoloto understood that during the first few weeks it would be harder to remit money home as workers are required to repay their employers for their flights to Australia and mobilisation costs.

However, after this initial period of deductions ‘Unoloto was able to start sending money to her family and saving for her goals.

“Now, every week I get my salary, I take my money for food and rent, and the rest I send to my family,” she said. It wasn’t long before ‘Unoloto’s dedication started to pay off. 

“My dad used to say to me, while I was in Australia, that soon I would come home and see everything I had achieved."  

“He would say that when he talked to the people back in the village, they would call him a millionaire. Because every week he got money,” she laughed. 

'Learning and learning'

During her time in Australia ‘Unoloto worked as a packer, a leading hand, and in a quality assurance role, checking all the products before they left the meat processing facility.  

Moving between roles and continuously learning in the workplace built ‘Unoloto’s confidence. 

“When I first got to Aussie, I’d just listen and listen. I kept going, learning and learning. Now I’m talking and talking,” she said.   

‘Unoloto has now returned to Tonga and has been looking after her daughter and helping her family with the farm. Her goal is to return to Australia again to earn more money but also to develop new skills in slicing. 

“I want to go back to Aussie to work to help my family. That’s all I want in life. But one day we will be together, stay together," she said.