When OrbitRemit launched transfers to Vanuatu, it was not just adding another country to a list. It was connecting two communities that are already deeply linked by one of the most significant remittance relationships in the Pacific.

According to World Bank data, Australia is the source of 66% of all remittance inflows to Vanuatu — making it the overwhelmingly dominant source of foreign income for the island nation, and giving Australia’s Ni-Vanuatu community an outsised role in the economic life of a country thousands of kilometres away.

---

Why does Australia send so much money to Vanuatu?

Several factors explain the depth of the Australia-Vanuatu remittance relationship.

The PALM scheme. The Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme allows Pacific Island nations including Vanuatu to send workers to Australia in agriculture, hospitality and other approved sectors. Vanuatu is one of the most active PALM participating nations — thousands of Ni-Vanuatu workers arrive in Australia each year on short-term and multi-year work agreements, earn Australian wages, and send a significant portion home to their families.

Historical ties. Vanuatu was jointly administered as the New Hebrides by Australia and France until independence in 1980. Australian educational, development and aid relationships with Vanuatu remain strong. Australia consistently provides among the highest ODA (official development assistance) per capita to Vanuatu of any donor country.

A small, remittance-dependent economy. Vanuatu has a population of approximately 340,000 people. Remittances represent a significant share of national GDP — meaning even relatively modest volumes of money sent from Australia can have a meaningful economic impact at the household and national level.

---

What the numbers look like

Australia’s Ni-Vanuatu community is small but financially significant. The numbers:

• 66% of all Vanuatu remittance inflows come from Australia — the highest share of any single country for this corridor
• Vanuatu receives significantly more through private remittances from Australia than through Australian aid in some years
• The PALM scheme has grown rapidly since its expansion in 2022, significantly increasing the number of Ni-Vanuatu workers in Australia and the volume of wages sent home

---

The people behind the numbers

For Ni-Vanuatu families, money sent from Australia is often the difference between covering school fees, building a home, or managing a medical emergency and not. The remittance flows captured in World Bank data represent thousands of individual decisions — a worker on a farm in Queensland sending his fortnight’s wages home, a family in Port Vila waiting for the notification that funds have arrived.

For workers on the PALM scheme, many of whom are away from their families for months at a time, the ability to send money quickly and affordably is a direct quality of life issue. A lower-cost transfer means more money reaching the family rather than being absorbed by fees.

---

FAQ’s (Frequently asked questions)

---

OrbitRemit now supports direct transfers to Vanuatu

OrbitRemit now supports direct transfers from Australia and New Zealand to M-Vatu, Vanuatu’s leading mobile wallet operated by Vodafone Vanuatu — for a flat $4 fee per transfer, with transfers typically arriving within 2 hours.

For PALM workers and Ni-Vanuatu communities in Australia, this means funds can reach family members directly in their mobile wallet — without a bank account needed, and without the delays and costs of older transfer methods.

• Direct to M-Vatu mobile wallet — no bank account needed
• $4 flat fee per transfer (fee-free above AUD or NZD $10,000)
• Transfers typically arrive within 2 hours
• New customers: first transfer free with promotional rate

---

Sources: moneytransfer.com.au — Australia’s Remittance Flows: Surprising Winners and Losers (World Bank 2024 data) | World Bank — Bilateral Remittance Matrix | DFAT — Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme