Samoa's Government is limiting the dependency on remittances from foreign work flowing back to families, prioritising the greater cost to civil society over immediate economic benefits.

The issue surrounds the country's labour force filling temporarily employment gaps for its regional neighbours.

It has forced the hand of Prime Minister La'auli Leuatea Polata'ivao Schmidt to cap the number of seasonal workers from accessing work programs, including the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme.

Government department figures, excluding its own diaspora permanently settled elsewhere, have indicated there are at least 3000 Samoans working in Australia, a further 3000 in New Zealand/ Aotearoa, and another 1000 who are working in nearby American Samoa.

Prime Minister Schmidt said the impact on the Pacific island nation goes beyond the unskilled labour of Samoa's population.

"At present, teachers, nurses, police and hospitality workers are leaving (Samoa) and this has hindered operations of these sectors nationally," Mr Schmidt told a recent press conference.

Concerns have been rising across other Pacific states over diaspora being easily permitted to apply for the temporary worker schemes.

Calculations suggest Australia has made around $1 billion from the PALM in this summer alone, according to Mr Schmidt.

"We must look at this from an even playing field and fairness perspective," he said.

The Samoan economy receives around $240 million annually in remittances, which accounts for around 30 percent of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Figures suggest Polynesian nations are more dependent than others across the Pacific after Tonga's remittances account for a whopping 44 per cent of its GDP.

Fiji, who has nearly five times the population of Samoa and more than nine times that of Tonga, brought in a $1.1 billion in remittances over the last 2024-25 financial year.

A Pacific labour expert hit out over a "clear imbalance" where nations in the region benefit the most from Pacific migrant labour.

Dr Naren Prasad, an economist with the International Labour Organisation, said the system is inequitable.

"For many families I know, they are life-changing ... but you can see that the bargaining power is not equal," he told Radio New Zealand.

"Let's be honest: Australia and New Zealand benefit a lot more from filling the labour shortages in their own countries."

Dr Prasad said the consequences of the Australia's PALM scheme and New Zealand's Recognised Seasonal Employer scheme is a "hollow out" of workers and their skills which could be "moving island economies towards self-reliance".

His own anecdotal evidence also backs up the Samoan Prime Minister's claims over the social cost to Pacific economies.

"Are we building systems out of workers to return with viable jobs back in Fiji, Samoa, Tonga - or are we normalising this permanent outward dependency?" he asked.

"I grew up in a small village in Fiji - whenever I go back, I see empty classrooms, health centres - there's shortages of doctors and nurses."

Recently, the PALM scheme has come under intense scrutiny.

The guest worker program allows mostly agricultural businesses to hire workers on a temporary basis from nine Pacific island nations, in addition to neighbouring Timor-Leste.

Criticism has suggested Pasifika labourers face exploitation, underpayments, poor working conditions and are left socially and economically vulnerable and isolated.

The workers are disengaged without a specific visa and under the scheme have no protection of work rights unlike Australian citizens, instead relying on the goodwill of either volunteers from local communities or charities to survive financially.

There have also been documented instances of workers experiencing physical and/or emotional abuse.

In response to the reports, the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations along with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, who are jointly responsible for the scheme, set up a disengagement taskforce late last year.

A dedicated response team has also been established to implement recommendations from the taskforce.

A spokesperson on behalf of the departments confirmed "the employer-reported disengagement rate" among the Pasifika workers has dropped "from 10 per cent in 2020-21 to three per cent in 2024-25".

"Addressing Pacific Australia Labour Mobility worker disengagement remains a priority for the Australian government," the spokesperson said.

"Wherever it is possible, the Australian government seeks to support the re-engagement of disengaged Pacific Australia Labour Mobility workers."

The reasons why PALM workers have left the scheme vary, however many have pointed to problems arising from pay deductions, wage theft, mistreatment, insufficient work and being tied to a single employer, according to the spokesperson.

A recent report from the Immigration Advice and Rights Centre found employers are allowed to legally make deductions from the wages of PALM workers for expenses, which according to further claims has left some foreign nationals involved in the scheme with as little as $100 per week after paying employers for transport to and from work in addition to rent on assigned properties.