The federal government has announced new commitments to protect visa-based migrant workers addressing exploitation in the workplace.
On 5 June, the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs, Andrew Giles, announced three protections for migrant workers: protection again visa cancellation, flexible visa requirements for future sponsorship visas, and a short-term visa to bring claims for wages owed and hold exploitative employers to account.
The news has been welcomed by the Migrant Justice Institute, the Human Rights Law Centre and academics at UNSW and UTS, which led a coalition of 40 organisations across Australia – including trade unions, migrant rights and faith-based groups – to develop a blueprint for visa protections for migrant workers.
The Migrant Justice Institute and Human Rights Law Centre also applauded two additional announcements for migrant workers: regulations to enable sponsored migrants to leave a questionable employer and work for up to six months while they find a new sponsor, and a commitment to changing the Migration Act to ensure all workers are protected by Australian law, regardless of immigration status.
Associate Professor Bassina Farbenblum, Co-Executive Director of the Migrant Justice Institute, and UNSW Faculty of Law & Justice, said the new protections could be a “game-changer” for stopping the exploitation of migrant workers in Australia, provided they are effectively designed.
“For the first time, migrant workers could safely address wage theft and walk away from employers who exploit them without risking their visa. Dodgy employers will no longer be able to assume that international students and other migrants will suffer in silence if they’re underpaid or abused,” Farbenblum said.
However, Associate Professor Laurie Berg, Co-Executive Director of the Migrant Justice Institute, and Faculty of Law, University of Technology Sydney said the changes need to be implemented urgently if they are to effectively protect migrant workers from unscrupulous operators.
“The cap on international students’ work hours returns on 1 July. Employers know that if students work more hours than permitted, their visa could be cancelled if they report abuse< Berg said. “The combination of cost-of-living pressures to work more hours and lack of visa protections will create a perfect storm for widespread exploitation that may be the worst we’ve seen.”
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