Melbourne HQ
8 / 3 Westside Ave
Port Melbourne, VIC 3207
10.00am - 5.00pm
Monday to Friday
General Inquiries
Employee Portal
PALM SCHEME APPROVED EMPLOYER
We truly understand our clients and our Pacific workers.
We know what the work asks of people, and what workers need to settle and stay. That is why every worker lives in a real home with a vehicle at every house, and why turnover and absenteeism stay low. Whales is a PALM scheme Approved Employer supplying meat processors in Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and Tasmania.
About 500
Pacific workers employed with us today
12
host sites
4 states
VIC, NSW, QLD and TAS
8 weeks
or less from your request to workers on site
OUR HOMES
A real home is where it starts
All our workers live in ordinary houses in the local community. We do not use hotels, motels, backpacker hostels or caravan parks. Every house has at least one vehicle.
A stable home lets people settle, build routines and feel part of the town. When workers are settled, they stay and they turn up.
A worker house in a regional town
The kitchen in a worker house
Workers with their house vehicles
01
A house and a vehicle
Workers share an ordinary house in your town, with a vehicle at the house for getting to work and around the community.
02
Workers who settle
With a stable home, people build routines and feel part of the town.
03
A crew that stays and turns up
We see much lower turnover and absenteeism. That benefits our workers, our team and our clients.
OUR PEOPLE
Close to our workers at every step
Our Managing Director leads recruitment in person, and the same team that chooses your workers meets them when they land and stays with them through the placement. Workers feel secure and work in a team that feels like family.
01
You see who you are hiring
Our Managing Director travels to interview candidates face to face in their home country. Each interview is filmed, so you can watch the videos and choose your team before anyone boards a plane.
02
The first face is a familiar one
Our Managing Director and team meet new arrivals at the airport and join the site induction. People settle faster when they already know who to ask.
03
A door that is always open
Our Cootamundra office is a street-front shop. Workers walk in whenever something is on their mind, and our welfare officers follow it up.
Meeting new arrivals at the airport
A welcome lunch with new arrivals
Our Cootamundra office
HOW IT WORKS
From your request to workers on your floor
1
Tell us what you need
Roles, numbers, start date, and the award or enterprise agreement your site works under.
2
Choose your team
We interview in the Pacific and send you the videos. You pick the people you want.
3
We handle the move
We arrange visas and flights, a house in your town and a vehicle for the house.
4
Arrival and induction
We meet workers at the airport, settle them into their homes and join your site induction.
5
On the job, looked after
Payroll, welfare and PALM scheme reporting stay with us for the whole placement.
Most teams are on site within 8 weeks of your request. We keep a pool of interviewed candidates ready, so it is often sooner.
PALM STREAMS
A steady crew for years, or extra hands for the peak
The PALM scheme lets Australian employers bring in workers from nine Pacific island countries and Timor-Leste. You can use it two ways.
Long-term
1 to 4 years
What most meat processors choose. Four years is enough time to train people properly and keep them, and many of our workers come back for a second placement.
Short-term
Up to 9 months
Extra hands for your busy season. Workers arrive when volumes lift and go home when they ease.
OUR INDUSTRY
Meat processing is what we do
Whales is a meat processing workforce specialist. We have supplied Australian processors since 2018, and we understand what the work asks of a person, from the slaughter floor to load out. We recruit for it.
Boning room
Slaughter floor
Slicing and trimming
Packing and load out
CLEAR ROLES
Who does what
Whales is the legal employer and carries the PALM scheme obligations. You run the work.
Whales
Employs the workers and runs their payroll
Sponsors visas and meets every PALM scheme requirement
Houses workers in ordinary homes nearby, with a vehicle at every house
Provides welfare officers and handles worker concerns
Your site
Directs and supervises the daily work
Provides a safe workplace and site induction
Confirms the award or enterprise agreement rates that apply
Treats PALM workers the same as the rest of your team
Reports to the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations
OUR VALUES
What we stand for
We believe a good job can change a family’s future. Every worker carries the hopes of a family and a community back home. Our job is to make sure their time in Australia is safe, fair and worth it.
Dignity for every worker, from the first interview to the flight home
A real home in the community, with a vehicle at every house
Real welfare support, not just paperwork
Doing things properly under the PALM Deed, Fair Work and state labour hire laws
Long-term partnerships with processors who share these values
LATEST NEWS
Whales in the news
TESTIMONIALS
What host sites say
“
Whales truly looks after its workers. They treat them like family, and we see the result in our productivity.
A MEAT PROCESSING HOST SITE
“
They understand our industry, they are honest with us, and they respond quickly whenever we ask for something.
A MEAT PROCESSING HOST SITE
PALM scheme Approved Employer Victorian labour hire licence VICLHL07489