457/ENS/RSMS | Senate Committee Report on Temporary Work Visas: "A National Disg…

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The Australian Senate’s Education and Employment References Committee has released its 355 page report on the impact of Australia’s temporary work visa holders on the Australian labour market and on temporary work visa holders. The report, entitled A National Disgrace: The Exploitation of Temporary Work Visa Holders, details unscrupulous and exploitative practices and makes 33 recommendations.

The recommendations cover a wide range of areas including the need for:

• better publicly available data
• a public register of labour agreements and any exemptions they contain
• TSMIT to be indexed to average full-time weekly earnings and indexed annually
• a reconstituted Ministerial Advisory Council on Skilled Migration (MACSM)
• the replacement of local workers by 457 workers to be prohibited
• the removal of labour market testing exemptions
• labour market testing to be required for labour agreements and DAMAs
• one-for-one 457 (professional)/Australian tertiary graduate employment
• 457 (trade) sponsor must have 25% (or at least 4) trade workforce apprentices
• training benchmarks to be replaced with training levy of $4000 per 457 worker paid into existing government programs that specifically support sectors experiencing labour shortages as well as apprenticeships and training programs.
• full public data on temporary worker numbers and occupations in Australia
• temporary visa holders to be eligible for entitlements under the Fair Entitlements Guarantee
• adequate bridging arrangements for all temporary visa holders to pursue meritorious claims under workplace and occupational health and safety legislation.
• an audit of rehabilitation and compensation provisions for temporary migrant workers
• free vaccination to be extended to the babies and children of all temporary migrants
• visa breach to not necessarily void a contract of employment and that the standards under the Fair Work Act 2009 apply even when a person has breached their visa conditions or has performed work in the absence of a visa consistent with any other visa requirements.
• for government funding on a submission basis for non-governmental organisations, registered employer organisations, trade unions, and advocates to provide information and education aimed specifically at improving the protection of the workplace rights of temporary migrant workers
• identities of migrant workers who report instances of exploitation to the Fair Work Ombudsman or to any other body to not be provided to the Department of Immigration and Border Protection.
• the 'recklessness' defence in section 357(2) of the Fair Work Act 2009 to be replaced with a 'reasonableness' defence.
• Australia to ratify the International Convention on Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and their Families.
• better proactive information campaigns for temporary visa workers around workplace rights.
• a licensing regime for labour hire contractors to be established with a requirement that a business can only use a licensed labour hire contractor to procure labour

 The Report called for reviews of:

• the period of time to qualify for permanent visas
• Working Holiday Maker visa programs (417 and 462)
• the Seasonal Worker Program,
• the procedures used in cases involving severe worker exploitation
• visa cancellation provisions
• the responsibilities of franchisors and franchisees
• Section 116 of the Migration Act 1954 with a view to amendment such that visa cancellation based on noncompliance with a visa condition amounts to serious noncompliance
• the resources and powers of the Fair Work Ombudsman, and the penalty, accessory liability, and sham contracting provisions under the Fair Work Act 2009.

Full report's attached