Help keep work fair – how to report workplace exploitation
Report employers who are not following workplace laws to the
Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO). This includes:
- pay and wages
- leave and other entitlements
- discrimination.
Visit
Border Watch to report people who:
- take migrants’ passports
- use a migrant’s visa situation to threaten or force them to work
- force migrants to live in overcrowded and unsafe housing.
You do not need to give your name when you make a report.
Extra protections for temporary sponsored skilled workers
If you are a temporary sponsored skilled worker, your employer must meet their
sponsorship obligations. You can report your employer to
Border Watch if they:
- force you to work too many hours
- pay you less than the salary agreed when your visa was granted
- take money from your pay for sponsorship, recruitment, or migration agent costs
- make you do a different job from the one approved when your visa was granted.
It is against the law in Australia to use someone’s visa situation to treat them badly at work.
If something feels wrong about the way you or someone you know is being treated at work, help is available. You can contact the organisations listed on the
Help page.
Migrant worker exploitation is illegal
It is illegal in Australia to exploit migrant workers, even if they:
- are doing paid or unpaid training
- have broken their visa rules, or
- do not hold a valid Australian visa.
If you are a migrant, learn about your protections at work at
information for migrant workers.
If you are an employer, learn about your responsibilities to temporary migrant workers and the penalties for breaking the law at
information for employers and labour hire organisations.
Types of migrant worker exploitation
It is against the law in Australia for employers to:
- keep a migrant worker’s passport
- threaten to cancel a visa
- threaten to report a worker to immigration authorities
- pressure someone to work more hours than their visa allows
- threaten future visa applications
-
force migrant workers to live in unsafe, dirty or crowded housing as part of their job
-
sexually harass a migrant worker
-
underpay a migrant worker
-
ask a migrant worker to repay sponsorship, nomination, and/or recruitment costs
-
ask a migrant worker for money in exchange for visa sponsorship.
Tough penalties for employers and labour hire organisations
The Australian Government is cracking down on employers who exploit migrant workers. Employers and labour hire organisations that exploit migrant workers face large fines or even jail. Employers, including businesses and people, can be publicly named and banned from hiring more temporary migrant workers. Go to
information for employers and labour hire organisations.
Even if an employer believes a migrant worker agrees to exploitation, the employer is still breaking the law. The same penalties apply.
Getting help
You do not have to give your name when you report migrant worker exploitation. You can find tips to help you prepare to report on the Help page.
