The Federal Government last week launched a two-year pilot of visa reforms to address this issue of migrant worker exploitation in Australia.
Despite migrant worker exploitation being widespread across the nation, many abuses remain unreported due to the fear of immigration consequences to migrant workers.
The new visa, called the “Workplace Justice Visa” will allow migrant workers to stay and work in Australia for six months, while pursuing labour claims.
The new visa protections will help migrants who want to take action against employers not following the rules, and aim to help migrants by recovering unpaid entitlements and increasing the enforcement of labour laws.
The initiative, developed with input from the Human Rights Law Centre, will allow migrants to obtain certification from trusted third parties like community legal services and unions.
The legislation will aim to enhances access to justice and broaden labour law enforcement beyond the Fair Work Ombudsman.