A Samoan lawyer who practices in Australia has raised concerns at what he described as the lack of insurance awareness for Samoan seasonal workers in Australia.

Director of Brisbane-based firm WT Compensation Lawyers, Leota Sinaumea Taufao told the Samoa Observer in an interview on Monday that he has concerns about the lack of insurance awareness for seasonal workers in Australia and questioned the Pacific Australian Labour Mobility (P.A.L.M.) over its insurance policy for those who are deployed under the scheme.

He claimed the majority of the Pacific's seasonal workers including Samoans being recruited to work in Australia are not compensated properly when they sustain injuries at the workplace or even die while on deployment. 

"I am not sure if it's the Samoan Government's policy or the Australian government or the employer but my concern is the seasonal workers being involved in accidents and dying from accidents and end up with nothing because they don't have insurance which is not good," said Leota. "I have worked on such cases in the past with Samoans but I always end up losing connections with them later during the case when it is later confirmed that they don't have insurance.

"There was one successful case of a worker from Kiribati who successfully received compensation because he had insurance and that's what our people should be getting."

Leota said he is currently working on a case of another Samoan seasonal worker in Australia, who was recently involved in an accident but could not be compensated because he had no insurance except for his superannuation.

"We did all the checks to find out he didn't have insurance which is a massive issue. Now I am just getting the balance of the super out for the family to help them out," he said.

Leota and his colleague and WT Compensation Lawyers Managing Director, Jonathan Wu have handled cases not only for the Samoan diaspora community in Australia but also for seasonal workers in Australia who have faced multiple injuries from their work but were unaware of their compensation rights.

In Queensland, personal injury matters are handled on a no-win no no-fee basis, according to the Brisbane-based Samoan lawyer. Leota said this means clients do not pay a fee until a settlement is received – and once and only when a settlement is received – lawyer fees are then deducted from the settlement, which means the client does not pay anything out of their pocket.

"If for some reason, the matter is unsuccessful, there is absolutely no charge because of the no-win no-fee rule which is enshrined in our legislation," he said. "This suits most Pacific island households as it removes the financial stress of paying for a lawyer during the process."

Earlier this month, discussions got underway between Samoa, other Pacific nations and Australia and New Zealand to figure out how to implement superannuation payments within the seasonal work schemes. Australia's P.A.L.M scheme and New Zealand's Recognised Seasonal Employers (R.S.E.) program have been instrumental in promoting economic development and fostering regional cooperation among Pacific participant countries. However, an ongoing challenge faced by workers sourced from the Pacific under these schemes relates to superannuation arrangements and the accessibility of the funds upon return to their countries of origin.

To address this pressing issue and find a comprehensive regional solution, the PACER Plus Implementation Unit initiated the first Regional Virtual Talanoa on Superannuation Arrangements in the RSE and PALM Schemes on Tuesday.

The virtual talanoa was an outcome of the 2022 Pacific Labour Mobility Annual Meeting (PLMAM) and aimed to increase understanding of existing superannuation arrangements, the issues involved and establish a regional way forward to addressing these issues.