COSBOA said that stakeholder feedback to date has highlighted that despite policy measures to provide safeguards and protections to encourage migrants to report cases of exploitation, migrants continue to fear adverse immigration consequences should they report exploitation.
“In a 2018 survey of almost 2,000 migrants, 25 per cent indicated fear of immigration consequences was the reason they did not engage in recovering unpaid wages from their employer,” a spokesperson for COSBOA said.
“The penalties against unscrupulous employers have also been identified as being limited in their effect.”
The Council of Small Businesses of Australia recently had a consultation with the Australian Department of Home Affairs about the significant role migrant workers play in meeting the workforce needs of Australian businesses.
During the consultation, it was emphasised the necessity of maintaining trust in the administration of Australia’s visa programs by proactively identifying and addressing the misuse of those programs for the purpose of exploitation.
A spokesperson for COSBOA said small businesses rely on migration for workers either to meet skills that are in short supply in key sectors and to meet significant workforce shortfalls in areas such as hospitality.
But the exploitation of temporary migrant workers is an ongoing issue of concern for small businesses that can frequently create an uneven playing field for competitors.
As part of the government’s review of the migrant workforce in Australia, it established the Migrant Workers’ Taskforce that has released a report with a number of recommendations that include that there be a consideration that legislation be developed so that a person who knowingly unduly influences, pressures, or coerces a temporary migrant worker to breach a condition of their visa is guilty of an offence.
The report also recommended that the government explore mechanisms to exclude employers that have been convicted by a court of underpaying temporary migrant workers from employing new temporary visa holders for a specific period.
