Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Too often in the media we see stories of migrants being exploited in workplaces right around Australia. There are tales of unscrupulous employers misusing a visa condition to coerce a migrant worker into not complaining about either their working conditions or, even worse, underpayment or other things. Moreton has significant Filipino, Taiwanese, Pasifika and Korean communities. Many of these young people end up working in the agricultural sector or the hospitality sector while they're in Australia. Most have fun and make some money. Some are exploited. A few years ago, I travelled with diplomatic representatives from these countries up to Bundaberg and then west to Lockyer Valley, and we interviewed some of these fun-loving farm workers from these countries to see how they were being treated. Sadly, both then and now, there are numerous cases of workers not being paid what they're legally entitled to be paid. Often, it is a subcontractor and middle people who are doing the exploitation. Unfortunately, the ne'er-do-wells often speak the same language as the person they're exploiting. We even hear of migrant workers being silenced after being sexually assaulted.

All sensible members on both sides of the chamber would agree that such behaviour must stop, and I note the contributions from those on the other side prior to my addressing this bill. This is where the Migration Amendment (Strengthening Employer Compliance) Bill 2023 before the chamber will make a difference. The Albanese Labor government is taking action through addressing the recommendations made in the report of the Migrant Workers' Taskforce led by Professor Allan Fels, which was handed down in 2019. No-one would be surprised that, even though the coalition government accepted in principle the recommendations of the task force—you guessed it—there was no follow-through. There was no implementation of any of the recommendations. It is another example of how the LNP is all about the announcement but hopeless when it comes to follow-through, unable or unwilling to put in the hard work needed to deliver something.

There is clear evidence of the systemic nature of exploitation in Australia's labour market. Unscrupulous employers and facilitators have misused visa rules to exploit workers. According to a recent report by the Grattan Institute, up to one in six recent migrants are paid below the minimum wage. Another report, from Unions NSW, found that more than one in five workers are paid a lower salary because of their visa status or nationality. So it's not just a bad apple or two. Remember: if 20 per cent of the market is undercutting good employers, they set the tone for a race to the bottom. Those good farmers intent on doing the right thing are punished by those down the road doing the wrong thing.

The Albanese government is particularly concerned about the vulnerability of people who hold temporary visas. We have heard of wage theft, sham contracting, threats of a phone call to Australian Border Force, empty promises of permanent residency, and stories of people having their passports locked away or being sexually harassed and sexually assaulted. Obviously, this behaviour needs to stop. These actions don't just harm migrant workers; they also damage our international reputation. These workers go back, normally, and become 'ambassadors of bad'. They tell everyone of their exploitation and damage our international standing.

For those industries that require a migrant workforce—especially seasonal picking, where you've got to get to work when things are on the vine and ready to go—it means that those jobs won't get filled; migrants simply won't come to Australia, because of the horrors that they've heard from those 'ambassadors of bad'. Again, this has effects on not only those migrant workers but the broader Australian economy. As the saying goes, one drop of lemon juice can spoil gallons of milk. Therefore, these bad actors need to be stopped.

Our government is amending the Migration Act 1958 to (1) establish new criminal offences and associated civil penalties to deter employers from using a visa condition or status to coerce, unduly influence or unduly pressure someone in the workplace, (2) establish a new mechanism to prohibit an employer from hiring any additional people on temporary visas for a period of time, (3) increase the maximum criminal and civil penalties for all current and proposed work related offences and provisions in the Migration Act, (4) create additional tools for the Australian Border Force to address employer compliance, (5) repeal section 235 of the Migration Act, which makes it a criminal offence to breach a work related visa condition, and (6) revise the regulation-making power in the Migration Act to ensure worker exploitation must be taken into consideration for all visa cancellation decisions.

Through the amendments in this bill, the government is delivering on its response to two key recommendations made in the report of the Migrant Workers Taskforce. Recommendation 19 reads:

It is recommended that the Government consider developing legislation so that a person who knowingly unduly influences, pressures or coerces a temporary migrant worker to breach a condition of their visa is guilty of an offence.

That's a good warning. Recommendation 20 reads:

It is recommended that the Government explore mechanisms to exclude employers who have been convicted by a court of underpaying temporary migrant workers from employing new temporary visa holders for a specific period.

Establishing these criminal penalties will help deter those employers seeking to exploit vulnerable workers. There needs to be serious criminal consequences for this poor behaviour. A simple financial penalty on its own isn't a big enough deterrent. The perpetrators will balance a fine against the benefits that come from the suppression of wages and conditions in their workplaces through exploitation, so there needs to be criminal repercussions and also bans. The crooks shouldn't be able to access the workforce they've been found guilty of exploiting. This will help change behaviour and make the rogues think twice before going down that road.

We'll also remove section 235, which is the tool used to threaten migrant workers to exploit and coerce them under the Migration Act. This section makes it a criminal offence to break a work related visa condition, which deters workers from speaking up about their exploitative work environment for fear of criminal sanctions.

Some of those opposite will bleat about how this is a weakening of the Migration Act. I haven't heard any yet; hopefully I'll be disappointed. Obviously I'm talking about a party who are happy to jump in front of a camera or to post on social media about how they're horrified by the treatment of migrant workers, but when it came to actually doing anything to stop it they sat on their hands and effectively did nothing. Why should we be surprised, when this is the party who had suppression of wages at the core of their economic policies? Do you remember their spokesperson detailing that? At the core of their economic policies was the suppression of wages. So why would they want to stop unscrupulous employers from helping them achieve their stated economic goal? They talked the talk but didn't walk the walk.

The media have reported lots of transgressions, but, sadly, no convictions have been recorded against this part of the Migration Act, or for any serious breaches of a migrant visa. Visa cancellation powers still remain. So the bill carefully extends the new prohibition power to include breaches of the Fair Work Act and the Migration Act. This will ensure that workplace relations law and migration law are working together to protect workers and penalise those employers who do not abide by the law. This includes breaches of compliance notices and enforceable undertakings. Triggers will include remuneration-related noncompliance, but they also extend to other forms of exploitation, recognising the corrosive behaviour of some unscrupulous employers. And it will be a criminal offence where prohibited employers have been found to have employed an additional worker on a temporary visa whilst prohibited.

We need to make sure that the new provisions of prohibiting employers from employing migrant workers are enforced and that actions taken in breaking the law will also lead to a criminal offence. The decision to prohibit will be a decision for the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs or the Minister for Home Affairs, or obviously it can be delegated to a relevant decision-maker. I understand that Minister Giles is consulting and collaborating on how the Fair Work Ombudsman can play a constructive role in this process. This will include considering extenuating circumstances outlined by an employer, such as the impact the prohibition would have on the ongoing viability of the business and how that might impact on existing workers and the broader community.

This is a significant measure. In industries where exploitation is particularly widespread, such as accommodation, food services, cleaning and construction, this is a necessary step to show that we can tackle exploitation where it is most prevalent. This bill will see additional powers given to Australian Border Force and an increase in penalties under the Migration Act. Maximum penalties for work-related breaches will be almost triple, with civil penalties of up to $99,000 for individuals and $495,000 for bodies corporate. In addition, Australian Border Force will gain a new compliance notice and enforceable undertaking powers.

These measures are designed to drive employer compliance under the Migration Act, which, sadly, has been deprioritised over the past decade. To assist the Australian Border Force in doing that, they will receive $50 million over the next four years to improve employer compliance as well as other immigration compliance priorities. We're also looking at measures outside of this bill to tackle the exploitation of people on temporary visas. The Albanese government is engaging with civil society, unions, industry and others on complementing measures to help people speak up about any exploitation that occurs in their workforce. This includes exploring what a whistleblower visa could look like and how the government can implement a firewall between the employment regulator and the Department of Home Affairs. We don't want to see our reputation as a leader in workplace rights and conditions continue to be tarnished by unscrupulous employers or their middle operators—the people who deliberately take advantage of migrant workers. As I pointed out, often they speak the same language as the person they're exploiting.

The Albanese government is making sure that we stop these poor behaviours. We want these people to face serious criminal consequences, and some of the tools they use to coerce and exploit will be removed. I commend this legislation to the House.

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