Amanda Vanstone (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you for the question, Senator. As I have explained in this place on a number of occasions, there is a requirement that anyone who comes in on one of these visas is employed under Australian industrial law and is paid a minimum salary of $41,850 or thereabouts, except in regional areas where they may have—and I think this is from regulations that have just gone through this morning—a discount on that of 10 per cent. It is my view that, if someone were working exorbitant hours to earn that—and, as I said before, it is a fair day’s work for a fair day’s pay—the immigration department would regard that as a breach of the conditions.

I say two further things. If you have any evidence—and we have made this offer to the unions—of any worker being exploited in Australia, you should take that to the appropriate authorities. If that worker is here on a temporary basis, one of the authorities you might care to give the information to is the immigration department. We would be happy to make any investigation in relation to any claims that you bring forward.