DILI, 06 March 2026 (Média Democracia) – The Secretary of State for Professional Training and Employment (SEFOPE) held a signing ceremony with 135 Timorese workers who will depart between March 6th and 20th this year, to work in Australia.
According to the Secretary of State for Professional Training and Employment (SEFOPE) Rogério Araújo Mendonça, before workers leave to work abroad, SEFOPE always holds a farewell ceremony for the workers, and at the signing the workers and their families accept the terms with the government for working in Australia for aduration of 9 months.
“Before they leave to work abroad, SEFOPE always holds a farewell ceremony for the workers, and at the signing, the workers and their families accept the terms with the government for working in Australia for duration of 9 months, with the aim of providing orientation to our workers,” said Secretary of State Rogério Araújo Mendonça.
The Secretary of State informed that as of now, there are 22 thousand workers in Australia from 2012 to 2026, which is a huge number compared to the other 10 countries in Asia Pacific, Australia prefers Timor Leste with the largest number.” said the Secretary of State
“SEFOPE appreciates the Australian government for their strong commitment, especially in programs like Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) and Pacific Asia Skills (PAS), with the aim of working together with the Timor Leste government through SEFOPE to increase the number and capacity of young people, and at the same time increase the number of workers going to work in Australia,” he added.
He also highlighted that most of the workers going to Australia are in agriculture and horticulture, so the policy adopted by the TL government and Australia is to look at how to further improve the quality of workers in other sectors as well. Meanwhile, last year, the Prime Ministers of Australia and Timor Leste wanted to increase the number of workers from 10 thousand to more.
Reporting : Intern Merito
Photo : Intern Marito