Protections for Immigrant Workers in Australia will be increased

Posted by Nationwide Immigration Services on July 1st, 2023

The Government of Australia has declared that enhanced safeguards will be launched for targeting employers attempting to exploit immigrants with Temporary Visas. This is to make sure workers can freely express themselves without apprehension of reprisal.

Andrew Giles the Multicultural Affairs, Citizenship and Immigration Minister said that there is a disaster of exploitation. 1 out of 6 recent immigrants is offered a lesser salary than the minimum wage.

A fresh legislation will be tabled in the Parliament of Australia in the days ahead that will penalize crooked employers and the newest initiatives are inclusive of the following:

· Making it a criminal offense for coercing someone into breaching their condition of the Visa 

· Launching prohibition notices for stopping employers from hiring individuals further on Temporary Visa wherein they have exploited immigrants

· Enhancing penalties and fresh tools for compliance for deterring exploitation

· Repealing Migration Act’s Section 235 that actively undermines individuals reporting unfair behavior

Immigration System Review and Temporary Immigrants

The Government of Australia recently received a Review Report of the immigration system that highlighted the loopholes in the immigration system extensively. A significant revamping of the system was inevitable according to the report.

The report specifically emphasized the plight of the nearly 90,000 immigrants whom it termed as “temporary permanently”. They have been residing in Australia for 5 or plus years with no transition option to Permanent Resident status. It leaves them gullible to exploitation by landlords and bosses.

Further, the rampant wage theft from provisional workers across the economy has also been described. It elaborated on the overseas education economy hungry for profit that generates Billion from overseas students annually. This often leaves them with meager returns apart from massive debt.

The Government is apparently keen to respond to this once-in-a-generation evaluation of the immigration system. However, reports of Visa “fraud”, and syndicates trafficking humans and applicants and agents alike “taking the system for a ride” are also being heard. This is offering the impression as if it is temporary immigrants themselves who are liable for the dysfunctional system.

Will history, and policy, repeat itself?

The erstwhile Gillard Labor Government in 2010 implemented an extensive restructuring of overseas education and skilled immigration claiming to clamp down rogue global colleges and crooked education agents. Scant consideration was devoted to implications for students.

Consequently, multiple vocational education colleges were closed which resulted in the loss of thousands of dollars for students who had paid course fees partially. Stringent Visa requirements pertaining to fraud were launched for fixing Visa holders with the implications for the conduct of their immigration agents. This was as if both the individuals were the same. It resulted in massive Visa rejections and Visa holders being left in the lurch being barred from further Visa applications for 3 years.

However, most significantly the revamping of the skilled immigration program of Australia at that time for screening allegedly ineligible overseas students left several thousands of students in the lurch. The majority of them were from China and India.

After a decade, these previous students are among the “indefinitely permanent” individuals who have become a component of Australia for many years now.

Now in the present times, overseas students are returning to Australia in record numbers. The criminalizing of public speaking is reminding provisional immigrants of their disposable and temporary status.

Focus on the Rights of Temporary Immigrants

Temporary immigrants are not just statistics on Australia’s balance of payments. They also are not passive victims requiring lawmakers to intervene and own accountability for their lives. These are individuals who are integral constituents of the Australian community.

If there were any apprehensions these must have been dispelled by the pandemic. If not for the work of the provisional immigrants the nation would not have had fresh produce for consumption, shops to supermarkets functional, or even public transportation.

If the Government of Australia headed by Anthony Albanese is keen on addressing the exploitation of immigrant workers it has to eliminate the exploitation levers in the immigration system administered by it. It has to ensure that Visa conditions that make individuals vulnerable to threats and exploitation by their bosses are eliminated.

Visa holders reporting breaches of workplace policies must be offered protection. It has to address the inherent Visa security that results in provisional workers becoming dependent on their bosses anticipating Permanent Resident status.

In brief, the Labor Government has to offer a central focus in its immigration reform policies and not make it peripheral. If not it will be treading on the same erroneous path similar to the Gillard Labor Government.

If you are keen to apply for Australia PR Visa as a skilled worker or apply for Tourist Visa for Australia from India contact the Best Immigration Consultants in Bangalore Nationwide Visas.