In late 2021, the Commonwealth Government introduced the Migration Amendment (Protecting Migrant Workers) Bill. We commend the government’s intention to strengthen protections for migrant workers from workplace exploitation in Australia. Unfortunately, this Bill is unlikely to meaningfully contribute to this goal and may in fact make some workers more vulnerable to abuse.
The Bill creates new offences for employers, labour hire intermediaries and others who coerce or exert undue pressure on migrant workers to breach their visa conditions or accept particular work arrangements. It creates a new category of ‘prohibited employers’, who have been found to have contravened various labour and immigration laws). It empowers the Department of Home Affairs to prevent these employers from engaging additional migrant workers and publicise these employers’ details on their website. The Bill also equips the Australian Border Force with additional regulatory powers.
We are pleased that the Bill has been referred to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee. As set out in our submission to that Senate Committee’s inquiry into the Bill, the Bill’s narrow focus on immigration enforcement misses an opportunity to make a systemic difference. These provisions penalise a very small subset of exploitative employer conduct and fail to address the principal drivers of exploitation. In the absence of any enhanced rights, protections or assistance to exploited migrant workers, these new employer sanctions may drive exploitative conduct further underground.
The Migrant Justice Institute’s submission makes 19 recommendations for substantive reforms of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) to address barriers to workers’ reporting exploitative conduct, including:
Removal of the condition on student visas which limits their right to work in Australia. This would allow international students to report exploitation without fear that their visa may be cancelled if they have worked in contravention of it.
The creation of a firewall between the Fair Work Ombudsman and Department of Home Affairs.
The introduction of bridging arrangements for temporary visa holders, and visa-overstayers, to pursue meritorious claims under workplace and occupational health and safety legislation if their visa would expire or be cancelled before their claim is resolved.
We would welcome the opportunity to give evidence in support of our recommendations.