Employer of Record in Papua New Guinea

Employment Laws and Regulations in Papua New Guinea

Employment Contracts

Employment in Papua New Guinea is governed primarily by the Employment Act 1978 (Chapter 373), which covers contracts of service, wages, leave, termination, and protections for women and young workers. Additional rules sit in the Industrial Relations Act 1962, the Industrial Safety, Health and Welfare Act 1961, and subsidiary regulations issued by the Department of Labour and Industrial Relations. Written contracts are mandatory for any contract of service longer than six months, and in practice nearly all EOR engagements use written contracts from day one. Oral contracts for service of less than six months are legally recognised but expose employers to evidentiary risk in any dispute, so the EOR convention is always a written, signed agreement. Contracts may be for a fixed term or for an indefinite period; fixed-term contracts are common for donor-funded project work and extractive-industry assignments, while indefinite contracts are standard for permanent hires. English is the working language of government and business and is used in virtually all written contracts, though Tok Pisin and Hiri Motu are also official languages.

Working Hours and Overtime

The standard working week in Papua New Guinea is 44 hours, typically spread over five and a half days with a standard day of eight hours. Section 49 of the Employment Act 1978 and the subsidiary Employment Regulations set the premium rates for overtime and rest-day or public-holiday work, and the Department of Labour and Industrial Relations enforces them through inspections and complaints. Time worked beyond eight hours in a day or 44 hours in a week is paid at 150% of the ordinary hourly rate, and work on rest days or gazetted public holidays is paid at 200%. Contracts for managerial and supervisory roles routinely exempt those employees from overtime, and collective agreements in the extractive and aviation sectors may provide more generous premiums than the statutory floor.

Overtime pay is treated as ordinary wages for Nasfund superannuation contributions and for Salary and Wages Tax withholding. Employers that operate across the mining or LNG sectors should check applicable collective agreements, which often override the statutory minimums with enhanced premiums and rotational rosters.

Minimum Wage

Papua New Guinea’s national minimum wage increased to PGK 5.00 per hour effective 1 January 2026 under a Minimum Wages Board determination, up from PGK 3.50 per hour. The new rate applies to all private-sector employment covered by the Employment Act 1978 and represents a substantial uplift from the previous floor, which had been in place since 2014. Youth workers, domestic workers in private households, and certain agricultural piecework arrangements remain outside the standard minimum-wage regime, and sectoral agreements in mining, LNG, and banking routinely exceed the national floor. Minimum wage reviews are conducted by the Minimum Wages Board, which advises the Minister for Labour and Industrial Relations. For a detailed breakdown of how the PGK 5.00 floor applies to different job categories, exempt roles, and in-kind benefits, see our Papua New Guinea minimum wage guide.

Probation Period

The Employment Act 1978 does not set a fixed statutory probation period, but section 36 allows either party to terminate a contract of service without notice during the first two weeks of employment, and in practice most PNG employers and EOR providers use a contractual probation period of three to six months. During probation, the contract typically permits termination with a shorter notice period (often one week) than applies after the probation clause expires. The EOR writes the probation clause into the employment contract to match the client’s internal policy, keeping it within the three- to six-month range that Papua New Guinean courts routinely uphold.

Leave Entitlements

Papua New Guinea’s statutory leave regime is set out primarily in sections 62 to 70 of the Employment Act 1978 and the associated Employment Regulations. The statutory entitlements below are a floor; many EOR clients and larger employers provide more generous terms for professional roles, and mining and LNG collective agreements commonly enhance annual and sick leave.

Annual Leave

Under section 63 of the Employment Act 1978, every employee is entitled to paid recreation leave of 14 consecutive days for each 12 months of continuous service. Leave accrues from the first day of service and is payable in cash where it cannot reasonably be taken. The 14-day entitlement is expressed in consecutive calendar days rather than working days, which in practice equates to approximately 10 working days per year when weekends fall within the leave period. EOR contracts for professional, technical, and managerial roles commonly enhance this to 20 or more working days, in line with market practice in Port Moresby and among multinational employers.

Sick Leave

Section 64 of the Employment Act 1978 provides six working days of paid sick leave per year after six months of continuous service, with a medical certificate required for absences of more than two consecutive days. Sick leave does not accumulate from year to year under the statutory minimum, and unused days lapse at the end of each leave year. Most EOR-managed contracts for professional roles provide enhanced sick leave (typically 10 to 15 working days per year with carry-forward and a more flexible medical-certificate threshold), and collective agreements in the resources sector commonly go higher.

Maternity Leave

The Employment Act 1978 does not mandate paid maternity leave for private-sector employees in Papua New Guinea. Section 107 of the Public Services (Management) Act 1995 provides paid maternity leave for public servants (typically six weeks at full pay), and that benchmark is widely referenced by private employers, but it is not binding in the private sector. EOR-managed contracts typically provide between six and 12 weeks of maternity leave, with the paid portion funded by the employer. Job protection during pregnancy relies on the general unfair-dismissal provisions of the Employment Act and the contract rather than a standalone maternity-protection statute, so the EOR writes explicit job-protection and return-to-work clauses into every contract for female employees in childbearing age ranges.

Paternity Leave

Papua New Guinea has no statutory paternity leave requirement in the private sector. Public servants receive limited paternity leave under Public Services (Management) Act circulars, and private-sector paternity leave is a matter of contract. EOR providers commonly offer a discretionary three to five working days of paid paternity leave, aligned with multinational practice.

Other Statutory Leave

Papua New Guinea recognises several additional categories of leave under the Employment Act 1978 and subsidiary regulations, which are routinely adopted in private-sector contracts:

• Long service leave: Six months’ long service leave after 15 years of continuous service with the same employer, under section 65 of the Employment Act 1978.
• Compassionate / bereavement leave: Typically three working days for the death of an immediate family member; contractual in the private sector and almost always granted.
• Court / jury duty leave: Paid leave for employees required to appear as witnesses or jurors in Papua New Guinean courts, under the general employer duty not to obstruct civic obligations.
• Study leave: Unpaid or partially paid leave available at the employer’s discretion for approved study; enhanced in many professional-services and banking contracts.
• Leave to vote: Reasonable time off to vote in national elections, consistent with the Organic Law on National and Local-level Government Elections.

The table below summarises the combined statutory and typical-contract leave framework that most EOR providers apply. The key takeaway is that recreation leave accrues from day one at 14 consecutive days per year, and sick leave kicks in after six months of service.

Statutory Employee Benefits

Beyond leave, the mandatory benefits landscape in Papua New Guinea is centred on superannuation and workers’ compensation. There is no national health insurance scheme, so private health cover is a de facto expectation for professional roles. An EOR ensures each of the following is in place:

• Superannuation contributions: 8.4% employer and 6% employee of gross basic salary under the Superannuation (General Provisions) Act 2000, remitted to an Authorised Superannuation Fund such as Nasfund or Nambawan Super. Participation is mandatory for every employee working 15 hours or more per week in a business with 15 or more employees; most EOR engagements fall inside the compulsory population.
• Workers’ compensation insurance: Employers are required under the Workers’ Compensation Act 1978 to carry workers’ compensation cover for work-related injury, disease, and death. Policies are placed with licensed insurers in the PNG market; the EOR selects a compliant carrier.
• Salary and Wages Tax withholding: Employers are required to withhold Salary and Wages Tax under the Income Tax Act 1959 and remit it to the Internal Revenue Commission by the seventh day of the following month. This is a compliance obligation rather than a benefit, but failure to comply exposes the employer (and therefore the client of the EOR) to penalties.
• Public holiday pay: Employers observe the 12 national holidays gazetted under the Public Holidays Act 1953, with paid time off standard for full-time employees.
• Private health cover: Not statutory, but near-universal for professional and expatriate staff given the limitations of the public health system. The EOR typically arranges cover with a licensed insurer such as Pacific MMI, Capital Insurance, or an international carrier.

Unlike many jurisdictions, Papua New Guinea has no statutory 13th-month salary, no national health insurance levy, and no unemployment insurance contribution. All exact contribution rates are shown in the employer and employee contribution tables in the payroll section.

Recent Regulatory Updates (2026)

Papua New Guinea’s employment and tax framework has seen two significant changes for 2026. The first is the statutory minimum wage increase to PGK 5.00 per hour effective 1 January 2026, which lifts the floor from the long-standing PGK 3.50 rate and is the largest uplift in more than a decade. The second is the Income Tax (Salary and Wages Tax) (Rates) (Amendment) Act 2025, which updates the progressive Salary and Wages Tax schedule from 1 January 2026: the tax-free threshold sits at PGK 20,000 per year, and the top marginal rate of 42% applies to annual wages above PGK 250,000. The Nasfund and Nambawan Super contribution rates have held at 8.4% employer and 6% employee and have not been changed. Employers should continue to monitor any further determinations from the Minimum Wages Board and amendments to the Superannuation (General Provisions) Act 2000 (Bank of Papua New Guinea).

Work Permits and Visas in Papua New Guinea

Work Permit Requirements

Who Needs a Work Permit

Papua New Guinean citizens need no permit to work in their own country. All non-citizens require a work permit issued by the Department of Labour and Industrial Relations under the Employment of Non-Citizens Act 2007 before taking up employment, and a separate entry visa issued by the PNG Immigration and Citizenship Authority before entering PNG. The work permit is tied to a specific employer and role; a change of employer or material change of role requires a new application. Short-term business activities (meetings, conferences, non-remunerated advisory work) can be conducted on a business visa without a work permit, but any remunerated engagement requires the permit-plus-visa combination.

Eligibility and Required Documents

For non-citizens, the work permit application requires the sponsoring employer (the EOR, in this model) to demonstrate that the role cannot reasonably be filled by a Papua New Guinean citizen, and to submit the following:

• Passport valid for at least 12 months beyond the intended period of stay
• Signed employment contract specifying position, duration, and compensation in PGK
• Curriculum vitae and evidence of qualifications relevant to the role
• Police clearance from each country where the applicant has resided for 12 months or more in the past five years
• Medical certificate confirming fitness to work
• Training plan for the localisation of the role to a PNG citizen (standard Department of Labour expectation)
• Employer sponsorship letter, certificate of incorporation, and Investment Promotion Authority certification of the sponsor
• Work permit fee paid to the Department of Labour and Industrial Relations

Processing Time and Validity

Work permit processing typically takes four to six weeks once a complete application is submitted, and the entry visa adds a further one to two weeks at the PNG Immigration and Citizenship Authority. The initial work permit is usually issued for 12 or 24 months, tied to the sponsoring employer, and renewable. The employee must hold the work permit and corresponding entry visa before travelling. Delays most often come from missing police clearances, incomplete qualifications documentation, or gaps in the localisation training plan.

Renewal Process

Renewal applications are filed with the Department of Labour and Industrial Relations before the current permit expires, typically at least 60 days in advance. Documentation includes an updated employment contract, current passport, updated localisation plan, and evidence that the role still cannot be filled by a citizen. Employees with a valid and pending renewal may continue to work while the renewal is under review, provided the application was lodged before the expiration date. The EOR coordinates renewals on behalf of the employee and the client.

Common Visa Types for Foreign Workers

Papua New Guinea’s immigration framework separates the work permit (issued by the Department of Labour and Industrial Relations) from the entry visa (issued by the PNG Immigration and Citizenship Authority). The work permit authorises employment; the entry visa authorises entry and stay. Both are required for any non-citizen taking up remunerated work. The table below covers the main visa categories an EOR sponsors for the client company’s employees.

The following non-employment permits exist in Papua New Guinea’s immigration framework but do not authorise work:

• Tourist visa: For visits up to 60 days; no work rights attach.
• Student visa: For attendance at the University of Papua New Guinea or approved programmes; does not permit general employment.
• Transit visa: For passengers in transit through Port Moresby; no work rights.

How an EOR Handles Work Permits

The EOR is the legal sponsor on the work permit application and the entry visa sponsorship letter. It prepares the Department of Labour and Industrial Relations work permit package (including the localisation training plan), compiles the police clearance and medical certificate, pays the work permit and visa fees, and coordinates the entry visa lodgement at the applicant’s nearest PNG high commission or consulate. The employee is responsible for providing identity documents, personal history, qualifications evidence, and signed declarations, and for attending any required medical examination. Because the work permit plus entry visa adds five to eight weeks before the employee can start, immigration onboarding runs in parallel with contract preparation rather than after it.

Payroll, Taxes, and Social Security in Papua New Guinea

Employer Contributions

Employer payroll burden in Papua New Guinea is concentrated in superannuation and workers’ compensation. There is no separate unemployment insurance contribution, no statutory training levy, and no national health insurance contribution. The table below shows the statutory employer contributions that apply to all covered employees. For a deeper explanation of how each payroll tax component interacts with gross salary, see our Papua New Guinea payroll tax guide.

Employee Contributions

Employees pay the 6% superannuation contribution plus the graduated Salary and Wages Tax under the Income Tax Act 1959. There is no separate medical insurance levy, no provincial wage surtax, and no social security deduction outside superannuation, so the payroll deduction stack below is complete for most employees.

Income Tax

Papua New Guinea operates a progressive Salary and Wages Tax under the Income Tax Act 1959, withheld at source each pay period by the employer. The 2026 resident tax schedule keeps the PGK 20,000 annual tax-free threshold in place and applies marginal rates of 30%, 35%, 40%, and 42% to successive bands of taxable wages. Non-resident employees are taxed at a flat 22% from the first kina of PGK-source income, up to the 42% top marginal rate. There is no separate capital-gains tax on employment income and no provincial wage surtax on top of the national rate.

Payroll Cycle

Papua New Guinea payroll is paid in PGK, typically via direct deposit to a local bank account with BSP (Bank South Pacific), Kina Bank, ANZ PNG, or Westpac PNG. Fortnightly and monthly cycles are both common, with fortnightly the standard for hourly and operational roles and monthly standard for salaried professionals. Payslips must itemise gross wages, Nasfund contribution, Salary and Wages Tax withheld, and net pay. Employers remit Salary and Wages Tax withholdings to the Internal Revenue Commission by the seventh day of the following month, file monthly Salary and Wages Tax returns, and remit Nasfund contributions on the schedule set by the fund (typically monthly). Annual group certificates are issued to each employee for income-tax reconciliation.

13th Month Salary and Bonus Pay

Papua New Guinea does not have a statutory 13th-month salary. Year-end, Christmas, and performance bonuses are entirely at the discretion of the employer and governed by the employment contract or company policy. Bonus pay is treated as ordinary wages for both Nasfund superannuation contributions and Salary and Wages Tax, and must be reflected on the group certificate for the year. There is no statutory profit-sharing or 14th-month salary requirement, though many mining and banking employers pay a discretionary Christmas bonus by tradition.

Cost of Hiring Through an EOR in Papua New Guinea

EOR Service Fees

EOR service fees in Papua New Guinea typically fall in the USD 500 to USD 900 per employee per month range, billed as a flat monthly service fee. Included in that fee is the drafting of the PNG-compliant employment contract, monthly PGK payroll processing, monthly Salary and Wages Tax filing with the Internal Revenue Commission, monthly Nasfund contribution reporting, workers’ compensation placement and renewal, benefits administration, leave tracking, and ongoing HR advisory. Work permit and entry visa sponsorship for non-citizens is usually billed separately as a one-time setup fee in the USD 2,000 to USD 4,000 range, plus government permit and visa fees.

Total Employment Cost Breakdown

The example below shows the total cost to the client of placing a USD 40,000 annual salary employee in Papua New Guinea through an EOR. The statutory employer burden in PNG is moderate: the 8.4% Nasfund superannuation plus approximately 2% workers’ compensation premium equals around 10.4% of covered wages, with no additional unemployment, training, or health levies. Figures are shown in USD to allow direct comparison with other Pacific jurisdictions; the underlying payroll is run in PGK and converted at spot rates.

At a USD 40,000 salary the statutory employer burden (superannuation plus workers’ compensation) sits around 10.4%, and the EOR service fee adds approximately 21% on top of gross salary. Because Nasfund contributions apply to gross basic salary without a wage-base cap, the statutory employer burden scales proportionally with salary rather than falling at higher bands. Clients budgeting for senior hires at USD 80,000 to USD 150,000 should assume the same 8.4% Nasfund contribution applies to the full basic salary; workers’ compensation premiums also scale with the payroll base.

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Benefits of Using an EOR in Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea is an attractive jurisdiction for companies needing presence near the resources sector, Australian supply chains, or the wider Pacific. The downside is that the compliance stack crosses four separate government agencies (the Internal Revenue Commission, Nasfund or Nambawan Super, the Department of Labour and Industrial Relations, and the PNG Immigration and Citizenship Authority) and requires Investment Promotion Authority certification before a foreign-owned company can take on staff directly. An EOR collapses that complexity into a single contract:

• Speed to market: An EOR in PNG can have a citizen employee on payroll in two to three weeks, compared with three to six months to register a local company with the Investment Promotion Authority, open a PGK bank account, and complete Internal Revenue Commission and Nasfund registrations.
• Compliance assurance: The EOR is the legal employer and absorbs the risk of errors in Salary and Wages Tax withholding, Nasfund superannuation remittance, Employment Act leave and termination rules, and work permit or entry visa filings. Misfiling any of these is expensive and slow to correct given the administrative capacity of PNG agencies.
• Cost efficiency vs. local entity: For teams under 15 employees, a monthly EOR fee of USD 500 to USD 900 per employee is far lower than the total cost of running a PNG-registered company, which requires Investment Promotion Authority certification, Internal Revenue Commission registration, annual corporate returns, and directors’ liability cover.
• Local expertise: An EOR brings knowledge of the Nasfund contribution base, the localisation-plan expectations of the Department of Labour, and market norms for leave and severance that a foreign HR team is unlikely to replicate without hiring in-country staff.
• Flexibility to scale up or down: The EOR relationship ends with a notice-period transition rather than a formal corporate dissolution, which is particularly valuable for donor-funded projects and LNG or mining ramp-up engagements where the client may not operate in PNG beyond the current contract.
• Risk mitigation: The EOR carries workers’ compensation cover under the Workers’ Compensation Act 1978, applies the correct PNG public-holiday calendar, and manages the work permit and entry visa process, reducing the risk of permit denial or late-filing penalties from the Internal Revenue Commission.
• Employee experience: Employees receive itemised PGK payslips, formal Nasfund enrolment, and employer-sponsored private health cover, which is a significant improvement over informal contractor arrangements and improves retention in a competitive Port Moresby labour market.

For most buyers, the decision point is not whether an EOR is cheaper than hiring informally; it is whether the compliance exposure of hiring informally (or as a mis-classified contractor) is acceptable. In Papua New Guinea, the answer for any permanent or full-time role is almost always no.

Termination and Offboarding in Papua New Guinea

Notice Periods

Section 34 of the Employment Act 1978 sets graduated statutory minimum notice periods that vary with the employee’s length of continuous service. These are floors; employment contracts commonly exceed them for managerial and senior roles. Notice can be paid in lieu of service where the contract allows, and the employer and employee notice periods are usually mirrored. Summary dismissal without notice is permitted under section 36 for serious misconduct.

Exceptions to the statutory notice schedule include mutual agreement to a shorter period, summary dismissal for serious misconduct under section 36, and end-of-fixed-term contracts that expire automatically without notice. Employers should document notice terms in the written contract to avoid any ambiguity beyond the section 34 floor.

Severance Pay

Papua New Guinea does not have a statutory severance-pay regime for private-sector employment. The Employment Act 1978 requires paid notice (or payment in lieu) under section 34 but does not mandate an additional severance lump sum. Severance therefore sits in the contract, with redundancy pay the most common form: most EOR-managed contracts provide one to two weeks of base salary per completed year of service in a genuine redundancy, and nothing for termination for cause or resignation. Long service leave under section 65 of the Employment Act 1978 (six months after 15 years of continuous service) is commonly paid out pro-rata on termination after 10 or more years of service, which functions as a de facto severance floor for long-tenured employees.

Calculation Method

Where an employment contract provides severance, the typical formula is one week of gross base monthly wage per completed year of service, paid as a lump sum at termination, commonly capped at 12 to 26 weeks of base salary. Base salary excludes overtime, discretionary bonuses, and allowances unless the contract expressly includes them. Pro-rata long service leave under section 65 is calculated separately against the full six-month entitlement at 15 years, scaled to completed years of service.

Caps and Exceptions

Because severance is contractual, caps are set by the contract and commonly fall between 12 and 26 weeks of base salary regardless of tenure. Typical exceptions where no severance is owed include termination for just cause or summary dismissal under section 36 (wilful misconduct, theft, fraud, repeated insubordination), resignation by the employee, expiration of a fixed-term contract, and termination during the probation period. Employers should ensure the contract spells out both the cap and the exception list; without a written contract, disputes default to the general contract principles applied by the National Court of Justice.

Grounds for Termination

The Employment Act 1978 recognises termination by notice under section 34, summary dismissal for serious misconduct under section 36, mutual agreement, expiration of a fixed-term contract, and redundancy. Protected categories include employees on approved leave, those pursuing good-faith complaints about wage, tax, or superannuation compliance, and employees who have lodged complaints with the Department of Labour and Industrial Relations. The EOR handles the written documentation, final pay calculation, Nasfund deregistration, Internal Revenue Commission termination notification, and work permit cancellation where applicable, and delivers the final payslip that settles accrued leave, pro-rata long service leave if applicable, and any contractual redundancy pay.

EOR vs. Other Hiring Models in Papua New Guinea

EOR vs. Setting Up a Local Entity

For most companies hiring fewer than 15 employees in Papua New Guinea, an EOR wins on every metric that matters: time, cash outlay, ongoing compliance burden, and exit cost. Registering a PNG-owned or foreign-owned company requires Investment Promotion Authority certification for foreign investors, an Internal Revenue Commission tax file number, and ongoing filings with multiple agencies, plus PGK-denominated bank accounts and corporate insurance.

The decisive factor for most buyers is the combination of setup time and exit cost. Three to six months before a new hire can be paid is rarely acceptable, and the legal dissolution process for an unused PNG company runs for several additional months. The EOR model eliminates both friction points and is the right choice for any engagement expected to last less than three years or involve fewer than fifteen hires.

EOR vs. Hiring Independent Contractors

Hiring a Papua New Guinean worker as an independent contractor is sometimes appropriate for short-term, project-scoped work where the contractor uses their own tools, sets their own hours, and serves multiple clients. For any ongoing, full-time role the contractor model creates misclassification exposure: PNG courts, the Internal Revenue Commission, and Nasfund can recharacterise a relationship as employment for Salary and Wages Tax and superannuation purposes, triggering back contributions, interest, and penalties.

Contractor classification in Papua New Guinea follows a substance-over-form test: the Internal Revenue Commission examines control over hours, tools, integration into the business, and exclusivity, rather than the label on the contract. For any role where the worker uses the client’s tools, follows the client’s hours, and works full-time for a single buyer, the EOR model is the appropriate structure. Remote People’s Papua New Guinea contractor-of-record service is the right option for clearly project-scoped engagements.

EOR vs. PEO (Professional Employer Organization)

The Professional Employer Organization (PEO) model is a U.S. concept that depends on the client already operating its own entity in the country of employment. Papua New Guinea does not have a formal PEO regulatory framework, and foreign companies rarely arrive with a PNG entity in place. The practical distinction is simple: an EOR is the legal employer and does not require the client to have a PNG entity; a PEO is a co-employment arrangement that only works if the client already has its own PNG-registered company to co-employ with.

For a company entering Papua New Guinea for the first time, the EOR is almost always the right structure because there is no local entity to co-employ with. A PEO becomes a consideration only once the client has established a registered PNG company and wants to outsource day-to-day HR administration while retaining legal-employer status.

Public Holidays in Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea observes 12 national public holidays gazetted under the Public Holidays Act 1953 and implemented by annual proclamation. When a national holiday falls on a Sunday, the following Monday is generally observed as the public holiday. Employers should calendar the holidays below for payroll scheduling and factor public-holiday pay (2x base hourly rate if worked) into the monthly payroll run.

Public holidays affect payroll scheduling in two ways. First, holidays worked attract the 2x base hourly rate under the Employment Act 1978, which an EOR builds into the monthly or fortnightly payroll run. Second, pay days that fall on a public holiday are advanced to the preceding business day under standard PNG payroll practice, so the pay cycle calendar should be set at the start of the year and communicated to employees.

How to Get Started with an EOR in Papua New Guinea

Setting up a Papua New Guinea team through an EOR follows a predictable sequence. Each step below takes one to five business days, and several run in parallel.

• First, scope the hire: Define the role, salary in PGK or USD equivalent, work location (Port Moresby, Lae, Mount Hagen, or elsewhere), start date, and whether the candidate is a PNG citizen or a non-citizen. This determines whether a work permit and entry visa are required.
• Second, sign the EOR service agreement: Execute the EOR service contract, which sets the monthly service fee, work permit sponsorship fee if applicable, and the scope of HR services. The EOR typically requires the first month of fees plus a deposit at signing.
• Third, issue the PNG employment contract: The EOR drafts the PNG-compliant contract in English, incorporates client-specific benefits and IP assignment clauses, and sends it to the employee for signature. The signed contract is the basis for Nasfund enrolment and Internal Revenue Commission registration.
• Fourth, register payroll and sponsor immigration if needed: The EOR enrols the employee with Nasfund for the 8.4% employer plus 6% employee superannuation contribution, loads them into the PGK payroll system, and sets up direct deposit to a local bank. For non-citizens, the EOR files the work permit application with the Department of Labour and Industrial Relations and coordinates the entry visa lodgement with the PNG Immigration and Citizenship Authority in parallel.
• Fifth, run the first payroll cycle: The employee starts work, the EOR issues the first itemised PGK payslip on the next cycle, and monthly Salary and Wages Tax filings with the Internal Revenue Commission follow the standard calendar.

Contact Remote People to hire in Papua New Guinea. We operate as your employer of record in Papua New Guinea, run PGK payroll, handle Nasfund superannuation, Salary and Wages Tax filings with the Internal Revenue Commission, and work permit sponsorship, and have your team onboarded in two to three weeks.

Where companies hiring in Papua New Guinea expand next

Companies operating in Papua New Guinea often extend across the Asia-Pacific, drawing on English-speaking talent and aligned business culture. Most teams start with operations in Fiji — Pacific-region proximity and English-first hiring. Vanuatu typically follows, with aligned Pacific workforce norms. Hiring in Australia is a natural addition for shared Pacific business rhythm, and an EOR partner in New Zealand completes the regional picture with the regional Pacific talent footprint.