Under Australian workplace laws, workers have the same basic workplace rights and protections, regardless of citizenship or their visa situation. Contracts or agreements cannot take away your rights. The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) is an independent statutory agency that monitors, investigates and enforces compliance with Australia’s workplace laws.
Workplace exploitation includes a range of behaviours from your employer or others in the labour chain, such as labour hire intermediaries. Learn about the types of behaviours that involve workplace exploitation by reading these
case studies.
Protect yourself from workplace exploitation
There are things you can do to protect yourself from workplace exploitation, and stay informed.
Keep your documents safe
Make sure you keep your passport and other travel documents safe. Your employer may check your passport, but it is illegal them to take your passport from you.
Stay connected with your consular office or embassy
You can ask your consular officer for help.
Understand your visa work conditions
For example, does it list who you can work for, or set a maximum number of hours you can work in a specified period? Check your
visa details and conditions.
Check the FWO website
The
FWO has helpful tools and resources, including a
Pay Calculator that will help you check your pay and wages. You can also quickly and easily store your work hours using their free
Record my Hours app.
Look out for prohibited employers
There are some employers who have exploited migrant workers and are not allowed to hire more temporary visa holders for a period of time. This is called a prohibition. You can find a list of these employers on the
prohibited employer register.
New laws make it illegal for an employer or third party provider, such as a labour hire intermediary, to use a person’s visa status to exploit them in the workplace. Read more about
new migrant worker protections.
Report workplace exploitation early
Reporting workplace exploitation early means you can get the support you need as soon as possible, and it might also help others.
If you are a temporary visa holder working in Australia and you are being exploited at work, ask for help from the FWO or get in contact with a union, community legal centre or lawyer.
Remember, employers cannot cancel your visa, even if you have breached your visa conditions. Only the Department of Home Affairs, including the Australian Border Force (ABF), can grant, refuse or cancel visas.
Anyone can report exploitation anonymously to the
FWO or
Border Watch.
Learn more about workplace rights for
visa holders and migrants.
Reporting protections
The Australian Government has introduced new laws to strengthen reporting protections to give temporary visa holders confidence to report exploitation early and resolve their workplace issues. These new laws recognise some temporary visa holders are fearful they will have their visa cancelled if they report exploitation or support an investigation into their employer. For more information, visit
Strengthening Reporting Protections Pilot.
The new laws strengthen reporting protections where:
- you have breached a work-related visa condition (not including the ‘no work’ condition) and the breach is connected to you being exploited
- a participating government agency or an accredited third party has certified the exploitation and is helping you to resolve the matter
- you promise to follow visa conditions in the future and
- there are no other reasons to cancel your visa (such as fraud, character or security)
If you are or have been exploited at work, and you need to extend your stay to resolve the issue, you may be able to extend your stay on a
Workplace Justice visa.
