Jess Walsh (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

No matter where they come from or where they work, workers just deserve protection in this country. That is a fundamental value of this government and it's a fundamental value of the Australian people. So, when we hear that so many recent migrants are paid less than the minimum wage and that employers are making threats of phone calls to Australian Border Force if those workers speak out, we know that there is something inherently broken in our labour laws in this country. This bill, the Migration Amendment (Strengthening Employer Compliance) Bill 2023, tackles that exploitation head on. It makes it a crime to exploit someone at work based on their migration status. Employers doing the wrong thing will face tougher penalties, and employers in breach of these laws will be restricted from being able to hire more temporary migrant workers. Really critically, we're scrapping that part of the Migration Act that penalises workers for speaking up, and, by putting in place appropriate protections from visa cancellation, we will support workers to speak up and to speak out and to report exploitation, because workers should never be punished for speaking up about the wrongdoing of employers.

This bill is not only about fairness in the workplace; it's also better for the economy as a whole, because wage theft and exploitation of vulnerable migrant workers is a threat to our economy. It's a threat to a competitive economy. It actually harms businesses that are trying to do the right thing. It harms businesses that want to see a level playing field in labour standards. It also undermines our trust in the migration system.

I want to acknowledge the story of Felisia, who has spoken out about the exploitation that she faced as a temporary migrant worker. She came here on a temporary visa and she was underpaid from day one. She was asked to stay late at work without pay, and she also experienced bullying and harassment at work, which we know is just all too common for temporary migrant workers, particularly women. Felisia was too scared initially to speak out and complain, in fear of what would happen to her visa. So, when she was dismissed and lost her job, she was unable to bring forward an unfair dismissal claim.

These stories are just way too common in a country that prides itself on a fair day's pay work for a fair day's work. These stories show that the abuse of temporary migrant workers is chronic in our workplaces. I know this. I saw it every day in my previous role before I came to the parliament, representing some of Australia's most vulnerable workers.

So, for the first time in a decade, we are finally making a significant change to prevent the exploitation of migrant workers in this country, migrant workers who contribute to our country every day, often doing the most essential forms of work that we all rely on. We need to make sure that temporary migrant workers are afforded the same protections as all Australians and that they're afforded the protections that they deserve to make that contribution to our community and also to be able to support themselves and their families and to be able to work with dignity in this country. The Australian community expects nothing less as well. This bill is an important contribution to preventing the exploitation of migrant workers, and I commend it to the chamber.