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To: Ministers for Immigration and Home Affairs

Exploited Worker Guarantee - Protection Against Cancellation

Migrant Workers Centre

Migrant workers have long advocated for a solution to this plainly unjust situation - and now they have won!

As of July 2024, the Federal Government has introduced a Workplace Justice Visa. That means if you are a migrant worker who is mistreated at work and you need to make a complaint against your boss, you can apply for a special visa that gives you up to 12 months to stay in the country to take your boss to court. You also have full work rights during that time to continue supporting yourself.

This is an astonishing victory, won by the migrant workers and allies who have campaigned so hard in solidarity. In particular we congratulate all the workers that have come together through the Migrant Workers Center.

The ever-present risk of visa cancellation creates a fundamental imbalance of power between migrant workers and their employers. Too often, employers threaten migrant workers that they will get their visas cancelled to prevent them raising legitimate workplace issues like wage theft or harassment.

Migrant workers must be provided a guarantee against visa cancellation if they take action against their employers for a breach of workplace laws. It should never be possible for an employer to retaliate by causing the cancellation of a worker’s visa. And is should never be acceptable for a migrant worker to risk their visa in order to speak up about what happens at work.

Why is this important?

Repeated studies have shown that migrant workers are being systemically paid less than their minimum entitlements. There is ample evidence that fear of visa cancellation is one of the key factors that prevents temporary visa-holders from acting on their rights at work, even if they know they are being mistreated.

Only by removing the threat of visa cancellation can migrant workers enjoy the same rights and protections as everyone else who works in Australia. As part of its migration review, the Federal Government should introduce a strong, predictable, and clear guarantee that a worker's visa will not be cancelled where the worker has been subjected to workplace exploitation.

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Updates

2024-10-16 16:56:00 +1100

Petition is successful with 342 signatures

2023-08-28 09:19:20 +1000

100 signatures reached

2023-08-25 19:55:32 +1000

50 signatures reached

2023-08-25 13:49:54 +1000

25 signatures reached

2023-08-25 13:34:32 +1000

10 signatures reached