Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I've been through a number of the steps that the government has taken, including the protecting vulnerable workers legislation and including the support for the Fair Work Ombudsman, but we are also in the process of drafting legislation to introduce criminal penalties, for the first time, for the worst forms of worker exploitation. That is one of the key recommendations, for example, of the Migrant Workers' Taskforce.

We have also released a discussion paper focused on identifying further improvements to protections of employees' wages and entitlements, which includes stronger civil penalties, greater deterrence for sham contracting and closely examining the suitability of employers' liability where entities in their supply network flout employment laws. We will release a further discussion paper seeking feedback on the compliance and enforcement framework in the coming weeks. That paper will canvass topics which include faster, more efficient remedies for workers to recover unpaid wages and empowering the Fair Work Ombudsman to peruse banning and disqualification order applications against directors of— (Time expired)