In March 2020, the COVID-19 outbreak escalated into a global pandemic. Like many other Pacific labour mobility workers, Hana Silva from Timor-Leste had to quickly adapt to the new measures.

Ni-Vanuatu men Stanley Pantutun, Knox Taleo, Kensie Wogale and Anory Roslyn were employed in the tourism sector, but the COVID-19 pandemic forced a change. They quickly moved from serving customers and working in kitchens to picking citrus fruit in Monduran, Queensland. In a message back to family and communities in Vanuatu, they speak about how they are keeping safe and making each other laugh while approaching a job that is very different than what they are used to.

Away from their families and working in Childers, Queensland, Wame Serukaitoga and Waisele Nawaqavou send their love back home to Fiji, and let everyone know they have been working hard and keeping safe.

Simfresh employs around 100 Pacific island workers on their farms in Queensland and Victoria. Around 60% of these workers are women who have taken on roles as pickers, packers, line leaders and in quality assurance. Ana from Tonga says, " The experience is incredible... whatever men can do women can do the same thing."

When coronavirus restrictions began, Simfresh – which produces almost 2 million boxes of citrus annually from farms in NSW and Queensland – was “already ahead of the game” in helping its workers stay healthy and happy during the pandemic, operations manager Luke Cini said.

During the uncertain times of the COVID-19 pandemic, George Brown Bakani and Ratu Duilomaloa sent messages back to their family, friends and villages in Fiji to let them know they were keeping well and they were following the health guidelines to keep safe.

A group of Papua New Guinean (PNG) workers employed at Aussie Orchards in northern NSW have not only helped the farm address its ongoing labour problems, they also stepped up to protect the farm during the bushfire crisis in late 2019.

Simfresh is a family-owned business with farms in New South Wales and Queensland. The company supplies around 1.8 million boxes of citrus each year to the domestic and export markets. After expanding its growing operations, Simfresh found it difficult to source enough workers to meet increased needs.

K&S Contracting specialises in forestry and weed control. The business signed up to the Pacific Labour Scheme (PLS) in 2018 after struggling to find reliable local labour for forestry work. It currently employs 5 Tuvaluans who are now active members of the local community.

As the COVID-19 pandemic took hold in early 2020, people were asked to stay home to stop the spread of the virus. Isoa Tuinasaoalau, from Fiji, sends a message back home to friends and family and shares how the PALM scheme workers found a way to avoid missing church services. Isoa says the workers held their own services at home in Childers, Queensland, getting dressed up in their best clothes, singing songs and sharing Bible verses.