Trade Minister Agus Suparmanto said Indonesian workers in health care, telecommunication, transportation, tourism and other sectors were eligible to join the program and could get up to six months of training and work experience in Australia.

The government is aiming for 100 Indonesian workers to join the program in the first year, while the number of participants is expected to gradually increase to 500 within five years.

“This is part of Indonesia’s benefits in human resource development from joining IA-CEPA, along with a chance for our workers’ capabilities to be recognized by the Australian government and businesses,” he said during a video press conference on Friday.

In the implementation of the program, the government will partner with the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) and the Indonesian-Australian Business Council (IABC).

The IA-CEPA, which was ratified by the House of Representatives in February and took effect on July 5, eliminates trade tariffs between the two countries. With the trade pact, the Trade Ministry expects a boost in the export of some Indonesian products to Australia, especially textiles, automotive products, electronics, fishery products and communication tools.

As the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted global trade, Indonesian exports fell 28.95 percent year-on-year (yoy) to US$10.53 billion in May. The country's exports to Australia amounted to $920 million in the January-May period, up 15.69 percent yoy.

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