Significant change for Australian employers likely following
the announcement of Draft Migration Amendment (Protecting Migrant
Workers) Bill 2021.
The Federal Government has flagged significant reforms to the
obligations of Australian employers who employ temporary visa
holders. The proposed reforms would strengthen the requirement to
check the visa status and conditions of visa holders, increasing
penalties for non-compliance, the creation of a new penalty for
coercion of visa holders, and establishing a framework to ban
employers from employing non-citizens on non-sponsored temporary
visas such as Students or Working Holiday visas.
The Minister for Home Affairs, Alex Hawke MP, announced over the
weekend that the Morrison government is seeking to review the
penalties and procedures required of Australian employers to employ
temporary visa holders in light of ongoing concerns about worker
exploitation.
