Employment in Papua New Guinea

The Department of Labour and Industrial Relations (DLIR) administers major employment services and labour standards in Papua New Guinea. Its National Employment Services (NED) provides job-search assistance through registration, screening, preselection and referral. PNG citizens and refugees who are already in the country can use NED, normally Monday to Friday from 9:00 to 15:00. A typical file includes an updated CV or résumé, qualification certificates, two identification photos and, where available, a National Identification Document, driver's licence or passport, employment references and character references. Career guidance is available from Grade 10 and can continue through working life. A Provincial Labour Office can provide a local alternative. The system does not provide a universal guarantee of a job placement. Licensed employment agents can provide in-country placement, recruit non-citizens, arrange labour hire or support overseas labour export. Their licensing costs are separate commercial compliance costs: the research basis lists K3,420 for application or renewal, K5,700 for recruitment or labour hire, K11,400 for a joint venture, K3,420 for career management and K5,000 for an employment enterprise or human-resources agency. No jobseeker fee is established by the available facts. PNG's Labour Mobility Program, coordinated through Treasury's Labour Mobility Unit, supports overseas placement through its own processes and licensed agents. The Employment Act 1978 recognizes written and oral employment contracts. Common forms include casual work, piece-rate work, specified-time or specified-work contracts and contracts for an unspecified period. A written contract or registered award can improve or modify statutory terms. Public service, teaching and other sectors can follow additional legislation or sector rules. A contract should identify the work, start date, payment, duration where applicable, working hours and termination arrangements so that the worker can compare the agreed terms with the applicable law or award. From 1 January 2026, the official government statement records a National Minimum Wage Board determination of K5.00 per hour, replacing the previous K3.50 rate. A registered award can set the rate that applies to a particular sector or occupation. Wages are paid in Papua New Guinean kina. Ordinary workers generally receive pay no less frequently than every two weeks, unless an agreement allows monthly payment. Casual workers are generally paid daily, while piece-rate workers follow the applicable piece-rate arrangement. The employer should provide a wage statement or pay envelope. Deductions generally cannot exceed 50% of a pay period's wages, subject to statutory exceptions. Employers withhold Salary or Wages Tax for the Internal Revenue Commission under the current tax schedule. The general working-time framework limits work to 12 hours in a day. For non-shift work, overtime generally concerns work beyond eight hours in a day, work after 12:00 on Saturday, and work on Sunday or a public holiday. For shift work, overtime generally concerns more than eight hours in a day or more than 44 hours in seven days. When a working day exceeds eight hours, the worker receives an aggregate rest and meal period of at least 50 minutes. The weekly rest period is at least 24 consecutive hours. A registered award can change some working-time arrangements, so the applicable award and contract need checking together. Recreation leave is 14 consecutive days of paid leave for each year of continuous service, with accrual after 12 months. An agreement can allow accumulation up to four years. When employment ends after at least six months, the worker generally receives one day for each completed month in the relevant final-leave calculation. Maternity eligibility depends on service: the statutory thresholds recorded in the research are 108 days in the preceding 12 months or 90 days in the preceding six months. Maternity arrangements include hospitalisation before confinement, six weeks after confinement and, where applicable, up to four weeks of sickness. Leave can be unpaid, and recreation or sick credits may be convertible under the applicable rules. Nursing breaks consist of two paid periods of at least 30 minutes per working day. Public-holiday and sick-leave details can depend on the sector and contract. The Industrial Safety, Health and Welfare Act 1965 provides the workplace safety framework. The Office of Workers' Compensation (OWC) administers claims for workplace injury or death and monitors compulsory workers' compensation insurance. DLIR labour administration can inspect workplaces, provide compliance advice, issue notices and mediate minor complaints. DLIR also recognizes workplace harassment, but the correct escalation channel depends on the facts, employer and sector. Nasfund coverage is generally compulsory where an employer has 15 or more staff. The recorded contribution rates are 8.4% from the employer and a 6% employee deduction. The employer contribution applies after three continuous months. Employers remit contributions within 14 days after the month or deduction period. The contribution base can include gross salary, wages, paid leave and commissions, while overtime, bonuses and compensation can be excluded under Nasfund guidance. Smaller employers, informal workers, self-employed workers and non-citizens can have voluntary options such as Eda Supa. Seasonal primary-production exclusions can apply until more than 24 months of service. Retirement, unemployment, emigration, disability and death payments follow the fund's specific rules. Workers can form or join a union and participate in collective bargaining with support from OIR. INAR handles conciliation and tribunal hearings for private, public and teaching services. An individual worker can normally raise a matter with the employer or union, seek assistance from a Provincial Labour Office or DLIR inspection and mediation, and proceed to INAR or a tribunal where the applicable process allows it. These employment channels do not replace separate advice about a legal claim under the wider labour-law framework. A non-citizen needs immigration and employment approval before starting work. The employer or sponsor submits the Work Permit and Employment Visa application through the ICA Sponsor Portal. The worker should have a valid Work Permit, Work Permit letter or identification card and Working Resident Visa before work begins; a permit is not the same as a visa. The file can require company incorporation or an IPA extract, a foreign-enterprise IPA certificate where relevant, a maintenance guarantee bond, organization chart, qualifications and CV, job description, passport bio page, signed employment contract, photograph, police clearance, Form 1, medical report, PNG professional registration where required and a PNG sponsor letter. Current ICA fees follow the applicable fee schedule, and a complete and correct application can take up to 42 days under the current process. Managerial, professional and high-skill occupations are generally open, while some occupations require local advertising and low-skill or non-qualified work is generally reserved for citizens. A change of employer or renewal requires the sponsor and permit arrangements to remain valid. Termination can also create an employer duty to repatriate the worker under the applicable law. An internal transfer, promotion or contract change follows the existing contract, award and sector rules. A non-citizen cannot treat a new employer or job as an automatic continuation of an existing permit. Skills development can proceed through NATTB, the National Apprenticeship and Trade Testing Board, which administers apprenticeships, trade testing and certification in formal and informal sectors. The National Training Council (NTC) sets training policy and standards. Local availability varies, and apprenticeship or trade testing does not create a universal placement guarantee. A specified-time contract ends when its period expires, and a specified-work contract ends when the agreed work is completed. An unspecified-period contract continues until one party terminates it. Without a longer contractual notice period, the recorded minimum notice is one day for less than four weeks of service, one week for four weeks to less than one year, two weeks for one year to less than five years and four weeks for at least five years. The notice period is generally the same for both parties, and payment instead of notice can be used where permitted. Casual work generally has no notice requirement. Final settlement can include current or deferred wages, accrued leave and other amounts due. A Labour Officer can attest a contract settlement where that procedure applies. Nasfund separation or withdrawal follows fund rules rather than the employment contract alone.