The Pacific Engagement Visa offers a life-changing opportunity for up to 3,000 Pacific Islanders and Timorese citizens annually to gain permanent residency in Australia. In this episode, Development Policy Centre Research Officer Natasha Turia discusses the newly opened 2025-2026 ballot, sharing insights from her research tracking the program's rollout and surveying PEV winners from Papua New Guinea. The conversation includes first-hand testimony from a successful PEV visa holder who has relocated to Australia, an update from DFAT's Jan Hutton on program improvements, and practical guidance on navigating the application process — from entering the ballot to securing a job offer and meeting visa requirements. With only a short period of time before the ballot closes (25 August), the episode provides essential information for prospective applicants while exploring the broader significance of this visa for Pacific labour mobility and regional integration.
The episode opens with powerful testimony from a Papua New Guinean woman who recently migrated to Australia through the Pacific Engagement Visa. She outlines her three main motivations: accessing better income and job opportunities, living in a safer environment where she can move freely, and obtaining quality healthcare. Now working on a fly-in fly-out basis between Cairns and the Northern Territory, she describes the mixed emotions of leaving family behind while embracing new freedoms and opportunities in Australia.
Host Amita Monterola introduces Natasha Turia, a Papua New Guinean scholar and PhD candidate at ANU's Department of Pacific Affairs, who has been working with Centre Director Stephen Howes to track the PEV's implementation. Turia explains why the visa represents such a significant opportunity for Pacific Islanders facing high unemployment and limited prospects for improving their families' living standards in their home countries.
The conversation establishes key dates and changes for the 2025-2026 ballot. Unlike the inaugural round which ran for nearly three months, this year's ballot opened with just four weeks for registration, closing on 25 August. The shortened timeframe represents one of the most significant changes from last year's process. Turia notes that 11 countries are participating this round, with Samoa and Kiribati joining after opting out in 2024. Papua New Guinea maintains the largest quota at 1,350 visas, while the Federated States of Micronesia and Palau have the smallest allocation at 50 each.
The episode features Jan Hutton, First Assistant Secretary of DFAT's Pacific Integration Division, speaking at the Pacific Update conference in Fiji. Hutton acknowledges the program's challenges while emphasising Australia's commitment to making it work. She reveals that as of June 2024, approximately 600 visas had been issued from the inaugural ballot of 56,000 primary registrants. By October, this number had grown to 1,000 visa grants — progress that Turia describes as positive, even if below the full 3,000 allocation.
Hutton addresses systemic challenges facing applicants, particularly difficulties obtaining basic documentation like passports, police clearances, and health checks in their home countries. She outlines how the Australian government has invested in the Pacific Engagement Visa Support Service to help applicants navigate these requirements and connect with potential employers. A crucial change highlighted is that applicants now need only their passports to lodge the initial visa application within the 120-day deadline, with additional time granted to gather other required documents.
The discussion turns to practical requirements for entering the ballot. Turia explains that primary applicants must be aged 18-45, hold a valid passport from a participating country, have been born in or have a parent born in an eligible country, and pay the A$25 ballot fee. New this year is the requirement for an ImmiAccount with multi-factor authentication—a security measure that may present technical challenges for some applicants but is designed to protect their personal information.
On the question of using migration agents, Turia advises that the ballot process itself is straightforward enough not to require professional assistance, though she acknowledges some applicants without credit cards may need help from trusted third parties to pay the fee. She recommends accessing official government websites and consulting with others who have successfully navigated the immigration process.
The job offer requirement emerges as perhaps the most challenging aspect of the visa process. Turia emphasises the importance of having an open mind about employment, noting that accountants don't need to find accounting work; any formal 12-month job offer suffices. The Pacific Engagement Visa Support Service aims to bridge this gap by connecting applicants with employers willing to hire PEV visa holders.
Financial considerations feature prominently in the discussion. Beyond the A$25 ballot fee, successful applicants face visa application fees of A$335 for the primary applicant and A$80 per dependent. Turia's research calculates minimum migration costs of around A$10,000 for a single person moving to Brisbane, including documentation, health checks, airfares and initial accommodation. While the 12-month job offer provides income security, applicants need savings for upfront costs — a reality many weren't fully aware of in the inaugural round.
The episode also touches on the special arrangements for Tuvalu under the Falepili Union treaty. Unlike other participating countries, Tuvaluan applicants don't require a job offer once selected in their separate ballot of 280 places. This more liberal visa setting reflects the bilateral agreement between Australia and Tuvalu, though applicants must still meet other eligibility requirements.
The episode concludes with both Turia and the PEV holder offering encouragement to prospective applicants. The visa holder urges people to "have an open mind, be positive and take this great opportunity", dismissing any suggestions the program might be a scam by pointing to her own successful experience. She provides practical tips: create an email account, update passports and other identity documents, and start saving money. "Do this for you and your family," she says. "This is a great opportunity. Take it."
Turia frames the opportunity in terms of rights and choices: "It is everybody's right to a decent standard of living ... And if an opportunity is presented to you, like the Pacific Engagement Visa, it is your right also to choose to have that better life for you and your family." She encourages potential applicants to learn as much as possible about the visa process, living and working in Australia, and to start asking questions to better prepare for permanent migration.
Please note: We provide transcripts for information purposes only. Anyone accessing our transcripts undertake responsibility for assessing the relevance and accuracy of the content. Before using the material contained in a transcript, the permission of the relevant presenter should be obtained.
PEV ballot winner: I recently received a Pacific Engagement Visa. Why I decided to apply? There's three main reasons. First is to access better income job opportunities, and then the second is to live and work in a safe environment, and then third is to have better access to health care. When I was selected from the ballot, I was grateful that I had this amazing opportunity.
Amita Monterola: We wish to acknowledge the indigenous people of Australia, the wider Asia-Pacific region and other parts of the world, and express our respect for their traditional knowledge and practices which stem from a deep connection to the lands and waters they have inhabited for millennia.
Welcome to Devpolicy Talks, the podcast of the Development Policy Centre. We're part of the Crawford School of Public Policy at the Australian National University, and we're recording this episode on Ngunnawal and Ngambri country in the Development Policy Centre's cottage on campus here in Canberra. I'm Amita Monterola. This is our 12th season, and we're bringing you a mix of interviews, event recordings and in-depth features on topics central to our research: Australia's overseas aid, development in Papua New Guinea and the Pacific, and other regional and global development issues.
On this week's episode, to talk about the Pacific Engagement Visa, I'm joined by the Development Policy Centre's Research Officer, Natasha Turia, a Papua New Guinean scholar, who's also currently a PhD candidate at the Department of Pacific Affairs here at ANU. Welcome to Devpolicy Talks, Natasha.
Natasha Turia: Thank you, Amita.
Amita Monterola: Now you've been working with the Centre's director, Stephen Howes, to track the announcement and the roll out of the Pacific Engagement Visa. Before we get into the details, tell us why this visa is important to the Pacific region.
Natasha Turia: In the region where there is high unemployment and just limited opportunities to improve the standard of living for families, the Pacific Engagement Visa offers this incredible life-changing opportunity for them, and that's why, I mean, it's a big deal for people across the Pacific.
Amita Monterola: So, when was the Pacific Engagement Visa first offered to Pacific Islanders?
Natasha Turia: The inaugural Pacific Engagement Visa era was announced in early June of 2024.
Amita Monterola: And just this week, the Australian Government announced the opening of the 2025-2026 Pacific Engagement Visa ballot that will run until the 25th of August. So, you've only got four weeks to put in your application. Is that right?
Natasha Turia: That's correct. So, unlike last year, where we had almost three months, this year, we've only got around four weeks to register in the ballot.
Amita Monterola: Before we get into the process of how you can apply for the ballot this time around, we're going to hear from a PEV ballot winner who was successful in her application for a visa and has now moved to Australia.
PEV ballot winner: I recently received a Pacific Engagement Visa, and I'm one of the applicants from Papua New Guinea that I've moved to Australia last month. Why I decided to apply? There's three main reasons. First is to access better income job opportunities, and then the second is to live and work in a safe environment where I don't have to be thinking twice when I move around. And then third is to have better access to health care.
Public health care back home is — there's not much medications and equipment, so if you go to emergency, you wait for hours to get served. And I'm an asthmatic, so I've experienced going to the emergency, and I had to wait even though I was out of breath, shortness of breath, but I couldn't be served, and I had to sit there for few hours to get served. So, I chose to come to Australia because of the health care.
When I was selected from the ballot, I had mixed emotions. I was excited because it was something that I've always wanted to move and live in another country. And I was also in disbelief because the ballot selection wasn't guaranteed, and therefore I was grateful that I had this amazing opportunity, and I was selected among the rest.
The most challenging experience that I went through during the PV were like job search, but I had done a search prior to that, and I already knew that getting a job in Australia is a bit difficult. Here you need an Australian qualification to meet the standards. So, any job that I could apply and get that was something that I was open-minded to experience and to overcome the challenges. I did my research prior to applying. The other reason is waiting for the visa grant.
The anticipation was daunting. Having a positive mindset, I had to pray and ask the Lord for His leading, leading me through this and give me peace during this time. We had our WhatsApp group that encouraged and supported each other during this time. It was really good. So, it's best to be in a group so that you have encouragement and sharing of information and you're not lost and in the dark and all that. So, the two main challenges were the job search and the waiting of the grant.
Preparing to move to Australia, I was nervous, because I have never travelled. It was a totally new experience in terms of everything I was accustomed to. A lot of Papua New Guineans would also go. So, it was great, because they made me feel at home, as if I never left. It's really nice to be around this environment. Everyone is so friendly. Whenever I go to the shops or I move around, everyone's so helpful and friendly. They talk to you, greet you. There's freedom of movement, where you can just walk around any time of the day or night.
So, I'm currently doing FIFO from Cairns to Northern Territory in Gove. So, I go there for two weeks, and I come back to Cairns for five days. So back in Gove or Nhulunbuy, the weather is similar to Cairns and Port Moresby, where it rains, the sun, it's not too cold, so that's one of the reasons why I like the environment there, as well as Cairns. It's similar to back home. Why I chose FIFO is because I don't have a permanent place yet in Cairns. So, I chose FIFO so that I can fly out and then I can just come and stay here for few days and then fly back up.
My family are excited and also sad at the same time, but they are happy for me for this new and exciting journey. My family have already started making plans to visit soon, but I have to fully settle and have a permanent place to stay.
My top three tips for anyone thinking of applying for PEV is, have an open mind, be positive and take this great opportunity. It comes once in a while, so if you don't grab it, you might regret later. So, this is a great opportunity. If you're thinking twice, thinking that it's a scam, it's not because I'm one of the successful ones that have come through this process. So, if you're out there thinking of applying for the ballot, please do because it's a great opportunity to do so.
Another thing I want to add is get your email account created, because you would need that to apply for the ballot and the visa, and also have your passport and ID and birth certificate updated, and also, it's a self-sponsored visa, so you will need to start saving up. This is not where I'll discourage you, because it will be worth it in the end. Do this for you and your family. This is a great opportunity. Take it.
Amita Monterola: You've been listening to a Papua New Guinean woman who is a Pacific Engagement Visa holder now living and working in Australia. There have been issues raised regarding the PEV. We were lucky enough to have Jan Hutton, the first assistant secretary of the Pacific integration division of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, address these issues at our Pacific update conference in Fiji in June. This is an edited version of her conference presentation.
Jan Hutton: We've heard the calls from the Pacific for greater access and easier movement around the region, including with Australia. Deepening connections in the region through our peoples is a priority for Australia too. We know that human mobility creates economic and social opportunities. It strengthens the connections between our people, cultures and countries. It makes us family.
That's why the Australian government has made it easier for Pacific Islanders to travel to Australia, whether for business, to visit loved ones, or should they wish to live, work and study. We're proud that we offer the Pacific privileged access to Australia. The centrepiece of our mobility initiatives is the Pacific Engagement Visa. We call it the PEV. The PEV is unique to the Pacific, and it embodies our understanding of what it means to be family. It's a groundbreaking initiative offering up to 3,000 permanent residence visas annually for eligible Pacific and Timor-Leste citizens.
The PEV offers unprecedented access for Pacific nationals to Australia. PEV holders and their families are accessing Australian education and healthcare systems in the same way and at the same cost as Australians. They're eligible for Australian government benefits, including Family Tax Benefit, our childcare subsidy, as well as the same financial supports for study and training as Australian students receive.
We're still in the first year of our PEV program, with the inaugural ballot held in June last year. Interest in this was incredibly high, not unexpected from us at all. There are over 56,000 primary registrants. Australia is committed to ensuring the PEV program continues to respond to the interests of the Pacific. As with all new programs, though, we are experiencing some challenges, and we're working really hard to respond to them. We've invested more money in the PEV support service, which we stood up in the Pacific Island countries that are participating in the PEV program so that it can better help people to understand the visa process and requirements to find a job and prepare applicants to settle in Australia.
We're also working with Pacific Island governments to address what we think of as systemic issues, and that includes the need for people to be able to obtain the official documentation that they need in order to submit a visa application. As we move into the second year of the PEV program, we'll continue to work hard to ensure the PEV success. We want this program to grow our Pacific diaspora in Australia, to boost remittance flows to Pacific countries, to strengthen linkages between our people and encourage greater cultural, business, economic and educational exchanges within the Pacific.
Once you secure a ballot spot, you then have to apply for the visa, and you need to meet the requirements of that visa. Some of those requirements are things like you need evidence of an ongoing job in Australia. We need our PEV holders to be able to support themselves, notwithstanding all of the Australian Government's supports they will receive when they arrive in Australia. They also need basic documentation, things like a passport. They need to have health checks. They need a police check.
So that's where we're faced, what I'd call some of these systemic issues. People are, quite frankly, finding it challenging to get some of those base documents. People can submit a PEV visa application simply with a passport, and then we allow them time to gather all the other documentation that they need. We are about to commence the second year of the PEV program, so there'll be 3,000 visas available in that second year as well. So, in addition to trying to turn as many applications into grants from this year's group, we're also really keen to work with Pacific Island governments themselves to see what we can do to support them to be able to provide those base documents to people who want to apply for the PEV.
Amita Monterola: That was Jan Hutton. She was speaking at the Pacific update conference in Fiji in June. Natasha, you were at the conference. How was this received? There were a lot of people there, and huge interest, obviously and unsurprisingly, from people in the audience and just really generally across the region.
Natasha Turia: The biggest question on people's minds at the time was how many people have actually received a visa, and so it was good to hear her comment that as of June, there were around 600 visas issued. And from this week's announcement, when they opened the second round of the Pacific Engagement Visa, we just learned that there are 1,000 visa grants as of October last year. So this is great news. There's positive signs that the PEV is working and that people are getting visas to migrate to Australia.
Amita Monterola: So that's 1,000 people out of how many people were PEV winners?
Natasha Turia: The ballot offers up to 3,000 permanent resident visas to eligible citizens from the Pacific and Timor-Leste. So, I mean, it's not half of 3,000 visas, but it's still progress, and it's positive progress for the Pacific to look forward to.
Amita Monterola: Now Natasha, you've run multiple surveys seeking the experiences of PEV winners from Papua New Guinea and as part of your broader migration research, you've collaborated with Pacific scholars to gather information about migration trends in other eligible countries. Have you seen any significant changes in the PEV process this year compared to last year?
Natasha Turia: The most significant change is the ballot period. So last year, it ran for about three months. This round is only four weeks. The other changes in the number of participating countries. So last year, Samoa and Kiribati opted out. This year, they're in. So we have 11 countries in total: Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga and Vanuatu. If you want to know the country quotas for each of these countries, that information is found on the Department of Foreign Affairs website. But Papua New Guinea still maintains the lion's share of those 3,000 visas, with 1,350, and the Federated States of Micronesia and Palau also maintain the lowest number of 50 each. The initial quotas from the 2024 round remain unchanged, with the exception of Tuvalu, who's got their own visa treaty.
Amita Monterola: Now, can you tell us just a little bit about how the Tuvalu deal is different?
Natasha Turia: The Tuvalu treaty stream their Pacific Engagement Visa under the Falepili Union is a more liberal visa setting, so they all still have to enter a ballot. Their quota is 280. It opened up last month and it closed just a few days ago, so they've got 280 for the ballot, and unlike the first PEV stream that the other 11 countries are participating in, they don't require a job offer. So once you win the visa, you just qualify for other the other eligibility requirements, and then you apply and wait for the visa grant to come into a stream. That's the only other advantage of the treaty stream.
Amita Monterola: What are the basic requirements for entering the ballot?
Natasha Turia: To be eligible for the PEV ballot, primary applicants must be aged between 18 to 45 years. They must hold a valid passport from a participating country and have been born in or have a parent who was born in an eligible country, and of course, pay the online ballot fee of 25 Australian dollars. They also need to have an ImmiAccount. You cannot register for the ballot if you don't already have an ImmiAccount.
Amita Monterola: What is an ImmiAccount?
Natasha Turia: The ImmiAccount is what the Department of Home Affairs here in Australia uses for any non-Australian citizens to apply for a visa. So it's not just for PEV, it's also for any other kind of visa. If you don't already have an ImmiAccount, you will also need to set up a multi-factor authentication app. This is just designed to better protect your personal details through an additional verification step, so you have to download that app on your mobile phone, and when the website tells you, you'll have to put in some numbers.
Amita Monterola: Is that how it works?
Natasha Turia: Correct. So for many people who use ASB [a New Zealand bank] for banking, and you have to download another app in order to verify your identity before you can finalise a transaction. It operates in a similar way for ImmiAccount this year.
Amita Monterola: So given these technical challenges, is it easier to enter the ballot by engaging the services of a migration agent?
Natasha Turia: The actual ballot process itself is quite easy, so anyone can register for the ballot, and you don't necessarily need to engage a migration agent to help you through that first step. The best thing really is to access all the available information on the official Australian government websites, and also, if you know other people who've already travelled to Australia, they would be good sources of information to help you through just through the ballot process.
Amita Monterola: You mentioned it costs 25 Australian dollars to enter the ballot. What about if you didn't have access to a credit card to pay that fee?
Natasha Turia: That's a really good question. And there have been instances where applicants who don't readily have access to a credit card have asked for third party assistance, and that's fine, so long as you trust that person to complete that transaction for you.
Amita Monterola: How long will people have to wait after the ballots close to find out if they've won?
Natasha Turia: From last year's experience, it happened only a matter of days. So shortly after the ballot closed, did the lucky winners receive a notification of selection via their ImmiAccount or in their registered email addresses. So yeah, you have to monitor your email account and email around the time the ballot closes.
Amita Monterola: So you've received a golden ticket and a notification in your email inbox. What's the next step?
Natasha Turia: Once you receive the news that you have been randomly selected from the ballot, you'll receive a notification of selection letter, and this letter will explain all the steps required to start and complete the visa process for subclass 192, and you have 120 days to lodge the visa, which means you have to pay the visa fee for the primary applicant, which is 335 Australian dollars and 80 Australian dollars for any dependents. So this is the next step of the PEV process for those who have been selected from the ballot.
Amita Monterola: So it's 120 days that you have to lodge a visa application. Now it sounds like in many Pacific islands, it's quite hard to gather all these documents together. What have been some of the changes that the government have made to this process to make it easier?
Natasha Turia: One of the positive changes that has been made is that you only need the passport, a valid passport details to submit the application. So there was a lot of confusion previously that you needed all the requirements of the visa, medicals, job offer, police clearance within 120 days. That's changed, so now people only need to lodge a passport details, and once you've made the payment, within 120 days, you can then work on uploading those other additional documents. So that gives applicants more time to work on the other visa requirements.
Amita Monterola: One of the most difficult visa requirements to meet is having a valid offer of work for when you arrive in Australia. Can you tell us what people responding to your surveys have told you about why it's so difficult and briefly, what the government is doing to assist people?
Natasha Turia: So one of the biggest concerns for applicants was that when they were applying for jobs online, they couldn't tick whether or not they had work rights because they don't actually have a visa in order to apply for this jobs. It's like Catch 22: you can't get the visa without the job offer, but you can't get the job offer without the visa.
Amita Monterola: So is this why the government needs to set up special supports for this particular class of visa?
Natasha Turia: Yes, so the Australian government has set up the Pacific Engagement Visa support service to support all the applicants across the participating countries, particularly with connecting them to jobs, so to the employers, and also supporting them with just preparations. What they need to know about moving, living and working in Australia.
Amita Monterola: What type of job offer is required?
Natasha Turia: They need a 12-month formal job offer so it can't be a casual job. Many people have thought that if you're an accountant, that you need to get a job in the same field. That's not the case. It's not that requirement. So long as you're able to prove that you have a valid job offer in any other profession, that's fine. So it's reassuring that everyone guaranteed a visa has an offer of ongoing work, but it's expensive to start a new life in Australia, no matter if you choose to live in an urban environment or regional area.
Amita Monterola: Do you need to have savings before you even think about entering the ballot?
Natasha Turia: I've written about this extensively on the Development Policy Blog. The associated costs was something that many people probably weren't aware of in the inaugural round, and so I did a calculation of the minimum associated cost to migrate to Australia for a single person without a family to Brisbane, and that was around 10,000 Australian dollars. This is inclusive of your passport, police clearance, airfares, accommodation, and so whilst you don't need all of that money up front, because the 12-month job offer is an equivalent, you still need some savings, especially to pay for the health assessments in country applicants need to be aware of when they're thinking about applying for this visa.
Amita Monterola: Do those in-country costs vary according to which country you're applying from?
Natasha Turia: I believe so, because the panel physicians that are in the sending countries decide their own fees that they charge. So it will vary across the region, but the Australian dollar fee is fixed.
Amita Monterola: What is the main message that you want to give Pacific Islanders who are thinking about applying for the Pacific Engagement Visa?
Natasha Turia: My main message is that it is everybody's right to a decent standard of living that is your right. And if an opportunity is presented to you, like the Pacific Engagement Visa, it is your right also to choose to have that better life for you and your family. So understanding the visa process, how the ballot works, the associated costs for migration, and just all of what it takes to live and work in Australia is so important in better preparing you for that permanent migration. So learn as much as you can about what you need to get a visa and start asking those questions and navigating this whole process of migration.
Amita Monterola: Last year, there were a huge amount of people interested in this ballot process. There were 56,000 people who entered across the Pacific. I mean, some people might choose to re-register this year, and many others will do so for the first time. If you do plan to enter the ballot, we recommend that you read the PEV information available on the Australian Government's Department of Home Affairs website. If you wish to read more analysis by our development policy researchers, please follow the Dev Policy Blog. We have a link to PEV articles on our homepage. Thank you, Natasha, for joining us today.
Natasha Turia: Thank you, Amita. I'm happy to share my insights and redirect intending PEV applicants to reliable sources of information, which is a life-changing opportunity to the lucky PEV winners who Australia will no doubt welcome to their shores every year.
Amita Monterola: Now, our guest today was the Development Policy Centre's Research Officer Natasha Turia, who is currently a PhD candidate at the Department of Pacific Affairs here at ANU. Her work at the Centre is supported by the Pacific Research Program with funding from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Devpolicy Talks is the podcast of the Australian National University's Development Policy Centre. Show notes are posted to Simplecast. Our producers are Robin Davies, Amita Monterola and Finn Clark. You can read and subscribe to our daily blogs on aid, international development and the Pacific at devpolicy.org, and you can follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter/X. You can send us feedback and ideas for episodes to devpolicy@anu.edu.au. Join us again in another fortnight for the next episode of Devpolicy Talks.